Ten
by Quidell
Summary: "That's...a weird name." She blinked at him, her long eyelashes fluttering as she recounted his words. Her mouth curved up in a small smile, her eyes sparkling as she started to giggle, and then she started to laugh. "I know, right?" She giggled outright, making Saitama cock his head further in confusion. Eventual Smut - rating will change to M
1. Saitama

She didn't think stubbing her toe would make the rest of her morning a miserable, unrelenting mess. But it did and with an unquenchable vengeance that would make most adversaries quake in their white knee-high socks. At least, that was what she liked to imagine in her otherwise dull morning most called a daily-morning-routine that, for whatever reason, humans liked to subjugate themselves to. Who needs hygiene, right? Oh, wait, she did… Or more like she preferred to have good hygiene.

It all started at the crack of dawn when she'd woken up and couldn't find her glasses on her nightstand, leaving her blind to navigate her way to the bathroom so she could properly put in her contacts. But, on her way to the bathroom, she'd stubbed her toe on her hardwood sliding door, forcing her to jump up and down in the bathroom and, with much efficiency and great pleasure to her enemy the floor mat, slid on her bathroom floor mat and ended up landing in the tub with a loud thud. Her small face contorted, scrunching up in pain as she'd slowly sat up, her delicate hand sliding down her back until it had reached her bottom where she'd tried, with little success, to rub the pain away.

Her morning continued with small mishaps: no more toothpaste when she'd tried to brush her teeth, her shower didn't work - at all, her iron wouldn't heat up fast enough to steam her clothes straight and to her high predilection of perfection, she had a rip in her favorite skirt, and the sole of her shoe had decided it wanted to fall off with no indication of past trauma when walking in them yesterday when she'd took a stroll around her dojo, but the sole just - flopped when she slipped her delicate foot into the dark crevice of her white shoes…

How was the even possible that she didn't even notice they were falling apart in the first place? She could only wonder...

When she stood up from her seat after putting her white sneakers on, she stood there and stared at the sole that was flapping underneath her lifted foot. Slowly, she slipped off the shoes and grabbed her flip flops, slipping them on and grabbing her favorite shoes in her hands where she placed them on top of a small table next to the entrance of her too large of a dojo.

She sighed, eyeing her favorite pair of shoes before looking up over the table and into the fancy, decorative mirror she had above it. She eyed her normally brown eyes, finding them to already be looking a tad droopy, like she was tired, and then she allowed her eyes to skate up to her dark brown hair that she oh-so precariously thrown up into a bun. She looked back down, past her slight upturned nose and back to her dull brown eyes.

She smiled, her mouth curving up into a simple but cute wisp of a grin, then laughed, her head falling back as her bun bounced along with her carefree chuckle. No. She wouldn't let a small mishap in the morning ruin her day. She was better than that. She was spectacular. When she looked back into the mirror, her eyes shined with a light she was used to seeing almost every day of her life, finding her friendly and bright personality back where it belonged inside her sparkling irises.

She was going to make today a perfect day and to start off her perfect day, she was going to go to the supermarket and buy some freshly made mochi and maybe some mochi ice cream, too. Her two favorites.

Smoothing down her dark blue skirt and making sure all her buttons were buttoned on her white blouse, she walked out of her large family owned dojo with a smile on her face and a hop in her step.

Mochi that was made that day was wrapped in a small delicate cloth in her shopping basket along with some ice cream as she walked down the aisle and towards the register. Setting her items down for the cashier, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her small coin purse, fingering the four-hundred and twenty yen and handing it to the nice cashier with a smile.

Walking outside with her paper bag in tow, she stopped and closed her eyes, feeling as the wind passed through her in greeting; taking a deep breath of the fresh air before opening her eyes again to continue on her journey. She walked down the sidewalk, ignoring, or just not seeing, the strange stares she was receiving from a couple of men she passed as she made her way to her favorite park. She couldn't wait to read the next chapter in her book. She was finally going to figure out the identity behind the mask of Mr. Bravo in the upcoming chapter and she'd been waiting for four novels now to finally read the answers she'd been seeking in this series of books. Then maybe Angela will accept him into her life, no longer running...

A gust of wind made her almost topple over but she managed to grab onto a light post before she could lose her footing. She held onto her bag as tightly as she could until the wind finally stopped, letting her open her big brown eyes, but it was short lived when explosions behind her suddenly erupted, forcing a scream out of her pink lips.

She was thrown to and fro, her screams muffled in the onslaught of explosions. She didn't have time to think, to understand what was happening to her until, just as suddenly, it all stopped. When her brain finally calmed down, she realized she was now lying on the ground, a slight throbbing pain in her side made her open her eyes to see the rubble and destruction around her. Slowly, her head turned to look at her side, and to her relief, she didn't see any blood. She placed both hands on the ground and pushed up, finding the throbbing in her side was not, surprisingly, getting any worse as she put her feet under her and made the rest of her ascent up with little effort on her part. She lightly grabbed her throbbing, tingling side and looked around her. The buildings in her area were decimated, the streets, the cars, nothing was distinguishable, the area looking completely different than what it did a couple of seconds prior.

She looked around her in awe, still not understanding what exactly happened until someone, or something, landed in front of her. She turned her head ahead, then craned her head up, way up, to see a tall purple monster with antennas sticking out of his head, his dark eyes staring down at her with slight amusement.

"You survived," it remarked, his mouth turning upright and into a terrifying smile. "But that won't be for long, child."

She felt her eye twitch. "I'm not a child," she spoke softly, but confidently.

"Oh? You're a brave one. Do you have any idea…" he babbled and babbled and so on, telling his story of his supposed origin. The girl blinked up at him, in her peripheral vision, however , she noticed something. Something rather important. Turning her head she let out a small gasp before running over to said object, looking down at it with tears in her eyes.

"My Mochi…" she whispered in defeat, finding that her bag was smashed and her mochi and ice cream leaking out of it and all over the rubble.

The purple monster balked at her, then a large vein popped on his forehead, his right eye ticking. In a matter of seconds, the monster was behind her, making the girl turn her head in wonder only to see a hand swiping at her with a speed she didn't, couldn't, understand. She literally felt her heart freeze, fear instantly encompassing her fragile body.

But before the monster could make contact with her body while he spewed out nonsequel nonsense of teaching her a lesson for ignoring him, her vision blurred, her stomach did a flip, and she found herself many feet away from the purple monster, her slim body held tightly in the arms of another.

She let out a squeal, finding that her mind was spinning from the sudden shift in what felt like the destruction of reality to her. The man let her down from his arms, her feet connecting to the ground but, from her sudden fear she wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting to let go as she looked behind the person who saved her and to see the monster staring at the spot they were just in with bafflement - his confusion evident, matching her own.

"You can let me go now," a monotone of a voice said in her ear. She pulled back her wide teary eyes to see plain, simple, distant round eyes looking at her with complete detachment for the whole situation, much to her chagrin. Her face heated up when she realized how close she was to him, her breasts pressed against his hard flat chest. "You're safe," he continued when she finally let the bald guy go, his shine on his head glistening from the sun high in the sky. He didn't seem to notice, or even care, how close she was to him.

She opened her mouth to speak, blinking the tears from her eyes as he regarded her before turning around and staring down the monster, his face suddenly beaming with a sharp flare. She watched, eyes wide as the monster spewed, even more, nonsense from his mouth while he prepared to attack the bald guy and all she could do was watch, helpless and alone.

He was going to die!

"W-wait…" the girl tried to plead, but when the monster attacked and the bald-capped man (was that a tablecloth!?) moved his arm forward at an impossible speed…

...the monster exploded into a million little pieces, leaving the girl looking at the scene before her with her mouth wide open in complete and utter disbelief.

But how!? How could he do that? He looked too...plain, simple, non-threatening, but how somehow, someway, destroyed that monster with one, single, punch.

It was...amazing to see, she had to admit.

He looked at his fist, staring at it as a look crossed his features before he turned his attention back to her like he just remembered she was standing there. In which she was, staring at him in bewitched amazement. His face was no longer…sharp, she noted.

"Wow," she breathed, blinking her eyes a couple of times while he walked over to her. He stopped suddenly and looked off to the right, she followed his gaze until her eyes fell on her destroyed grocery bag. He walked over to it and picked it up and she watched, with much emotion shining in her brown eyes, as the mochi fell out and onto the ground with a couple globs of ice cream.

"Is this yours?" he asked, turning back to her. She nodded her head. He'd made a weird grunting noise before saying, "Sorry about that."

She blinked again. "That isn't your fault." Then her face broke out into a smile as she closed the distance between them, her dirty fingers laced in front of her as a dusty pink shade shadowed her cheeks. "I'll go and buy some more in the town over." Her smile was genuine as she observed him. "Thank you for saving me." She bowed, showing her gratitude before standing back up, straight and erect. "What's your name?" she asked, her head slightly slanted to the left.

"Saitama," was his simple reply.

"Saitama," she repeated, smiling warmly again. "I'm Ten." She gave her name freely, his head now cocking to the side as he regarded her.

"Ten?" he started. "That's...a weird name."

Ten blinked at him, her long eyelashes fluttering as she recounted his words. Her mouth curved up in a small smile, her eyes sparkling as she started to giggle, and then she started to laugh. "I know, right?" She giggled outright, making Saitama cock his head with his barefaced confusion.

And then, he smiled a small, almost undetectable smile as he watched her giggle, her eyes now closed but her cheeks reddening from the small exertion she was willingly giving for him.

So much for having that good day. But, she couldn't complain. After all, she did end up meeting her hero...


	2. Number 1 Fan

Two Weeks Later:

Ten believed that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade...and then find that person where life gave them vodka. After meeting Saitama, she'd believed she'd found her vodka, but not in the sense as she was conveying it as. She liked to watch him fight, or punch, and nothing more. Every time a large monster made the news he was there, and she would make sure she was there, too, to most of them that didn't devastate the whole town, and then she would watch. Sometimes he would let them hit him, wail on him, let them beat on him, and every time he had always looked so bored, so out of touch with reality, it always made her giggle, in a sense. But as soon as he took action, his face would sharpen, a moment of seriousness as he struck and killed his opponent in one, single, punch.

It amazed her and it excited her. To watch such an event was mind blowing and in a way, Ten got addicted to it. His punches were like an endorphin for her self-conscious and when he was done with that single punch, she'd felt like she'd just ate a boat load of chocolate; her endorphin high was through the roof.

After their last and first encounter, however, they went their separate ways. Ten had noticed the unusually pleased smile on his face when she'd called him her hero, but she wholeheartedly meant every word. But he had things to do, places to be, and he'd left her alone. That was the last time they ever talked but once in a great while, when his current monster was defeated, their eyes would connect and she would smile at him, and he to her. It was almost like a ritual now, every time he fought an opponent and won, he would search for her, to see if she was watching like the last, and the last before the last time.

And, of course, for the most part, she was.

On slow days when there were no monster attacks, she'd wonder what he was doing right then. He wasn't in the Hero Association, that she knew for sure. Which begged the question: what was the point of him fighting all these monsters if he wasn't a professional hero or receiving any sort of compensation for his work? Since he wasn't in the Hero Association she had no way of following him. Most, if not all, heroes always had an update to their current status, either it be on some super important mission off on the other end of the continent, or if they were trying to decide on ramen or bistro for lunch. Even the ones that didn't care to update their status, the hero association always had someone else updating it, even if to say "Hero is currently sleeping". Unless they were class C heroes. Only B and up had someone assigned to their whereabouts at all times of the day and night. Though the class B heroes only had the luxury of someone updating their status for them only if they were handling an important event, not their plans of what they were doing for the night like Class A and S.

Still, as she sat there watching the news about a current swarm of mosquitoes terrorizing the city, she couldn't help but wonder if he was out there now, swatting at the mosquitoes with his mighty strength, trying to narrow down the swarm with his hands alone.

The thought alone made her giggle, wondering if he was truly doing just that. That would be another sight to see. She imagined he looked quite funny doing it, too.

Ten slurped up the last of her ramen and held the bowl in her hand as she continued to watch her television from her kitchen, her book for school sitting in her lap untouched. She wasn't crazy enough to go out in that, not by a long shot. But, was he out there now, she wondered?

Standing up and turning away from the television, she walked over to the sink and began washing her single bowl. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until she felt it was completely clean before drying it off and putting it back in its place. When she turned back toward the television, she was pleasantly surprised.

"The swarm had dispersed!" the reporter yelled with evident glee in his eyes, standing outside without any hesitation. "No signs of any unusual mosquito activity after the last attack fifteen minutes ago…" The reporter, however relieved, was confused as to why the mosquito attacks have finally subsided and as he droned on, decided it was a fluke of nature.

Ten shook her head and smiled, guessing that Saitama had something to do with it. She wished she could have seen how.

Saitama looked about, scanning the area and coming to a conclusion of apparent disappointment. That one girl wasn't there. He wasn't surprised, considering that a swarm of mosquitos was killing people in an instant and all, but he was looking forward to seeing her smiling up at him after he defeated yet another foe. It brought a little light into his otherwise boring outlook on life; everything being too easy for him that he found the lack of challenge to be rather dishearteningly, weighing on him as each day passed and suppressing important factors in his life he used to find joy in before he became too strong.

"Master! What is it that you are looking for?"

A tick formed on Saitama's forehead before turning his attention to the now annoying cyborg, ignoring his disheveled and beaten demeanor. "I'm not your master!" he yelled.

One Week Later:

He finally became a hero! Oddly enough a C class hero, but a hero nonetheless. She was excited, more than excited to see his picture suddenly pop up on her phone showcasing the two new heroes for the Hero Association. Without any hesitation on Ten's part, she instantly started to follow Saitama, knowing that she was officially Saitama's first and only fan, making her his number one fan. She blushed at the thought, a smile creeping on her face as she fell back on her bed, her feet dangling and kicking off the edge as she thought about that little prospect. In no time, however, she would become just a number in his soon to be overwhelming fan base once everyone else noticed how strong and awesome he was, now that he was a hero and could finally start taking credit for his work now. She wondered if he would notice her, though, before his fans started to pile up, burying her with the rest of the population.

She hoped he would notice, if only for a day.

Yet Another Week Later…

"He's a promising genius newcomer that debuted as a Class S Hero at the age of nineteen." , "He's handsome." , "I like how he refuses to talk to the media at all. It's cool." , "He's my cyborg prince." , "I can sense a frailty behind his cold, metal expressionless exterior." , "He's among my top five most attractive heroes."

Genos recited what he read off the intranet of the Hero Association club network, scrolling through all of his fans proclaimed love and devotion for the blonde cyborg they didn't truly know. "These were some of the comments about me," Genos clarified to his master.

Saitama, sitting across from Genos in his apartment, leaned forward until his hands were placed firmly on his table as he regarded his annoying roommate. "Are you not embarrassed to read out things like that about yourself?" Saitama asked, finding that he wouldn't be able to do that even if he was alone and no one around to hear him speak.

"As the people only wrote down their impressions after looking at a picture of me and don't really know anything about me, I don't particularly care," Genos said with little emotion, driving in his nonexistent care for what random strangers thought of him.

"Ahh…I see…" Saitama huffed, knowing full well he would care. So, what does that say about his character exactly? Pff, like he gave a shit.

"Even if the world does not acknowledge it, I have to say I have yet to meet a person as outstanding as you, teacher," Genos said with a smile and a twinkle in his young and innocent eyes.

"Genos, you're creeping me out, quit with the compliments."

"Yes, Master!"

Genos looked back down at his phone, going over to his favorites list and clicking on Saitama's picture to open up his profile. Scrolling through, he noticed something quite interesting near the bottom of his page, making the cyborg's black eyes grow wide in wonder.

"Teacher!" Genos exclaimed, looking up at his master. Saitama was now lounged back, looking up at the ceiling as he dug fervently into the cavern of his left nostril, an annoyed look on his face.

"What is it, this time, Genos?"

"You have a fan!" Genos exclaimed rather eagerly.

This got Saitama's attention. In an instant, the strongest man in Z city was crouched next to Genos, looking at his screen with overzealous excitement sparkling in his otherwise dull eyes. "Really!? Well, who is it! Don't hold out on me now, Genos. Go on and tell me their name already!"

"Ten." Genos turned the screen of his flip phone to Saitama, showing the screen name to his master. Saitama eyed it, looking for a picture but not finding one.

"That name," Saitama began, eyeing the profile, "Sounds familiar, but I can't put a face to the name…"

"Probably someone you saved, Master."

"I think that's pretty obvious…"

"Do you want me to go find them and bring them here?"

"Please don't embarrass me like that, Genos." Saitama stood up and walked over to his window, looking out. He had a fan, huh? He wondered who this ten person was…

A Meteor, Class Dragon, was headed straight for Z-town. Ten sat on her legs in front of the TV as she watched the news coverage with worried eyes. They'd said that everyone in Z-town would be annihilated, killing everything and everyone instantly. Not everyone would make it out on time…

Z-town was where she met Saitama, right? Would he be okay?

…Of course he would, who was she trying to kid? She smiled at the thought, in fact, she knew he would be the one saving everyone by completely destroying the meteor with his bare hands.

Her hands tightened around her long skirt. He would be okay…no matter how dire the circumstances were. He would always come out on top.

Then why did she have this strange feeling? A feeling that something bad was going to happen…


	3. True Hero

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. Or, in Ten's case, just being late to class because she slept in. To tell everyone the truth, Ten didn't know how to procrastinate. But today, even though to most the event of her timer failing to wake her up in the morning due to it dying in the middle of the night, wasn't procrastinating, just an honest mishap, but to Ten, she felt like the world's largest procrastinator. Why didn't she have a backup timer?

Whatever. Ten didn't have time to ponder on the know-how's of living, all she was worried about was if her skirt was flying up behind her as she pedaled her bike as fast as she could to J-town where her college resided. She knew she was making a funky face, considering how everyone was staring at her as she passed, but she really didn't give a damn at the moment. She shouldn't have stayed up late studying, she didn't even have a test today and, of course, she was overdoing things again and now she was paying the price. If she was late, she deserved the consequences, she figured. At least then, maybe, she wouldn't be stupid enough to over push herself for no reason.

As she round every corner, everyone watched as the tiny girl flew through town, her tongue sticking out and eyes as wide as saucers, both bloodshot. It was a sight to see, a couple of teens even took a picture as she flew past, her chest heaving from over exertion of pedaling too hard to get to her destination.

And, to tell the truth, she was up half the night on her Hero Association fan profile, defending Saitama. As it turned out, after he'd saved half of Z-town from the meteor, everyone was making him out to be the bad guy, saying it was his fault that half the town was destroyed and he took all the credit for destroying the meteor when Genos and Metal knight did all the work…

What a load of bull. Ten knew with full confidence that Genos and Metal Knight had nothing against Saitama. They wouldn't even be able to lift a finger to him in a one on one confrontation.

She gritted her teeth as she thought more about it, her peddling slowing down as she neared her college. She stopped, waiting for a light to say she could cross the road at a busy intersection. As she stood there and waited, the more she thought about the comments, and it only made her even more peeved. They had no idea how many times Saitama saved them. They all didn't even have a clue…

Then the sirens began to wail, starling everyone around her to look up in scared bewilderment, including herself, effectively distracting her from her chaotic thoughts. When the sirens went off...that was never a good thing. Ten stopped in her unwelcomed brooding and waited for the announcement that was sure to follow. That bad feeling she had before was back again, but this time, it was making her whole body tingle with frigid anticipation.

What was this feeling?

Then, the sirens suddenly stopped and in its place came an automated voice, "Warning, warning, this is an emergency evacuation notice! The disaster level of the ongoing Seafolk invasion has been raised from tiger to demon…"

"Stinger's been defeated!" one of the citizens yelled from behind her. His fingers frantically typing onto his phone. Ten reached into her front pocket of her blouse to pull out her own phone, flipping it open to see the news coverage herself.

"Citizens of J city please evacuate immediately," the announcement continued, "Please stay clear of areas close to the sea as you're more likely to counter the monsters there!"

The warning kept blaring, repeating to seek shelter immediately. Ten didn't hesitate to follow the crowd, she didn't have a choice considering how everyone was pushing her to go in the same direction as them. She sighed inwardly knowing that her class was canceled now, again, due to an emergency. That was another day added to the end of her semester, by the time she was done, two years would have had passed...

"Stop pushing me, please!" Ten yelled to no one in particular, finding that the pushing was becoming a little too much as she made her way into a dome they called a safe zone, or shelter, depending on the person. Ten pulled her bike through the entrance and through the mass of people where she huffed and moved to the right against the wall, wishing to not be close to everyone else as they worried about their way into the shelter.

Pushing her light pink skirt down and fixing the collar of her blouse, Ten watched as everyone filed in, the huge area filling in quick. Reaching into the front pocket of her blouse, Ten pulled out her phone again and after a couple of clicks began watching the recent news feed. It seemed like the current news reporter lost track of the latest monster, but they had an S class hero on the way to take care of the problem.

"Genos…" Ten whispered only to herself as she eyed his profile that popped up into her feed as being the current and closest hero to the monster. She remembered seeing him once before with Saitama. So, did that mean that Saitama was with him right now? Making their way to the monster? She put her phone to her chest, her eyes looking down at the floor in thought. She hoped so. The feeling intensified since entering the sheltered dome and even though she knew there was a possibility that Saitama was with Genos right now, she couldn't, for whatever unfathomable reason, get her spirit up.

She shook her head and closed her phone, placing it back in its rightful spot over her right breast. She was being stupid, thinking nonsense. Saitama was on his way! She should be happy!

Yes. She was happy. The more she thought about it the more excited she became thinking about seeing Saitama again and his one punch signature move!

Her heart gave a beat with severe anticipation.

"Damn rain…" someone said while sliding in next to her. Ten finally looked up from her contemplation and finally noticed that the area around her was quite crowded. She blinked at the small revelation, then her eyes moved to the guy beside her where she, yet again, blinked.

She recognized him from somewhere...

He was fixing his jacket, sliding his arms into the sleeves, his shirt sprinkled with small droplets of water. He fixed his collar then slid his hands into the pockets, his head slightly tilted up as he regarded the crowds around him. Then, he slightly stiffened, sliding his eyes over to Ten who was, awkwardly, still staring at him.

She blushed and looked away, tightening her grip on the bars of her bike. "S-sorry. Didn't mean to stare."

She heard his clothes ruffled as he shrugged. "You're good. No need to say sorry. You get used to it being in my position."

She turned her head again to look at him. He was no longer looking at her but at the crowd, as he watched them finally close the doors to their sanctuary. "Your…."

"Yeah, I am." Was his only reply as he continued to watch no one in particular. Yes, he was Class C Hero All Back-Man. He waited for her to say something along the lines of why he wasn't out there, fighting, like the rest of the Heroes. But when none came, he looked back at her. She was no longer paying any heed to him, but instead was focusing all her attention back on her phone, the news coverage playing on her screen.

"You won't find anything new on there," he commented, watching as she slowly moved her head up to look back at him with her big, brown eyes. "The reporters never get close to the action. They'll wait till it's over before getting half the facts to report the final results of today's disaster level." All they cared about was giving credit to the wrong guys, most of the time.

"That explains a lot," she said quietly, almost too quietly, for him to hear.

"What was that?" he asked, turning towards her again.

She looked up at him again and blinked her doe-like eyes. Then she smiled. "Explains why they never give credit to the heroes that deserve it. It's because, in truth, they don't care who the victor is as long as they have one, right?"

He blinked at her, then blinked again. He turned his head, a light dust of pink decorating his cheeks. She did have a nice smile. "Glad someone knows the actual truth now…" It did surprise him, however. Any other time he mentioned that little tidbit, everyone else would defend the reporters, saying that they always got all the facts straight before reporting and all of their stupid nonsense. Of course, it wasn't like he wasn't ever on the receiving end of praising from something he didn't do before, in fact, there was a couple of time where he stood back and got the credit for something he didn't even lift a finger to but he never said otherwise...

Ten watched everyone around her settle in for the long hall, a couple passing by were even complaining about having to go to the bathroom but didn't have time before being forcibly evacuated by relatives or friends. Ten watched everyone as they interacted and as the seconds ticked by, the tighter she held onto her handlebars.

She finally released them, however, when a small aching pain gripped her fingers. She lifted her left hand up to look at her palm, imprinted in them were the rubber grips of her handlebars. She tilted her head to the side but stopped suddenly her movements frozen when she felt her heart sink and a rather cold chill suddenly slithered up her spin, freezing her to the spot in its icy cold grip.

Something wasn't right…

She felt her heart skip a beat, a sudden ominous aura engulfing the area, choking Ten. Then, like clockwork, the wall smashed in a few feet away from where she was standing, screams echoing and deafening Ten.

Ten took a step back, dropping her bike as small debris flew her way, but stopped when she felt her back hit someone. She looked back to see the blonde hero. His hands moved to her shoulders as he looked ahead of her, his eyes conveying his fear, not conscious that he was grabbing onto her for support. Ten turned her gaze to her front, looking ahead at the sight before her as the debris dissipated.

Standing only a couple of feet away was a giant fish-like monster with a crown on his head, his smile encompassing his whole face as his eyes roamed over everyone in the large enclosure which now felt a lot smaller with that thing forcibly residing in it.

His smile grew, glistening as lightning flashed behind him. "Nice to meet you all," it began, "And goodbye."

Everyone gasped, taking a step back as fear hung heavy in the air. Ten covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide with her own fear. Hands tightened around her shoulders then and just like that, let her go. The blonde hero walked around her and headed to the front, sticking his hand up high in the air as he spoke to the monster.

"H-hold on! We surrender!" The blonde hero stepped forward further, his fear evident in his quivering eyes. "If there's anything you want from us, we'll do as you say!" He stood in front of all the civilians, hand still raised. "So, please...Don't attack us!" He was sweating now, his nerves getting the better of him. "I beg you."

The monster took a step forward, snickering all the way. It tilted its head down, its large eyes scanning the blonde hero with careless anticipation. "Surrender, you say? Hehehehehe…" It laughed maniacally, its smile growing impossibly wider by the second. "But you're going to die whether you surrender yourselves or not. Hehehehehe… Because I'll kill you all."

The monster's head pivoted up, regarding everyone in the room. "Something I want from you? How about some really nice death screams? When I tear you into thousand pieces as a warning to the other humans."

Ten watched the hero balk at the monster, trying to find something else to say, to distract it or possibly appease to its better nature but ended up with a blank, defeated stare. Everyone around her began to whine, cry, plead, but that only fueled the thing, making it laugh in triumph. It took a menacing step forward, ready to attack, and Ten just stood there, petrified. Too afraid to move and defend the blonde hero that so bravely stood up for everyone.

They were all going to die and there wasn't anything Ten could do to stop it. She couldn't even move forward to help stall it until Saitama came and saved them all…

She was pathetic…

Why was she always so weak!?

Then, out of nowhere, two heroes came on either side of the blonde hero, taking up a stance and forming a line between the citizens and the monster. The blonde hero looked to them, slight relief clouding his eyes. Then, a third stepped forward, all proclaiming to be heroes. They talked amongst each other, each receiving courage from the other with words alone.

"Are they Heroes?" someone said in the crowd of people.

"Have Heroes come out for our sake?" , "Look! Those Heroes have come out to save us!" , "We're going to be safe now!"

The crowd bellowed and cheered, giving courage to the four heroes that so bravely stepped forward, taking on the monster head on so they could protect the citizens that were helpless and defenseless, just like a hero should do.

Ten smiled, watching as their confidence grew by the second. A glimmer of hope.

The monster took another step, now standing directly in front of the four heroes. Not perturbed in the least by the crowd of people cheering them on. "Hehehehe, so, four little worms decided to challenge me? Hehehehe...pathetic. I doubt I'll be able to feel your punches."

Then, without any warning, the monster blurred and went straight through the chest of one of the heroes, killing him instantly. Everyone gasped, no longer cheering as they watched with dismay and fear as the three remaining heroes courage suddenly disappeared with the life of the one hero so named Jet Nice Guy, Class B Hero. It was so sudden, too quick for everyone to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

And it just kept on laughing, enjoying the kill without any remorse or care…

The three heroes left, however, gathered their wits and stood in a line together, facing their foe again, ready to protect the citizens with their lives…

It was brave...beyond brave. This was what it meant to be a true hero.

But, it was easily short lived when the monster charged forward, hitting the three, including the blonde hero, out of commission, sending their bodies flying into the surrounding walls. Ten watched as the body of the blonde flew over her head and impacted into the wall behind her, no longer breathing or moving. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.

She looked up at him, waiting, seeing, then gravity decided it wanted to kick in, his body slowly sliding out of the hole he created, ready to fall. Ten ran forward without hesitating, in the back of her mind, she knew she at least had to help, even if it meant just catching the blonde hero from hitting the ground and causing more damage to his already broken body.

When his body finally slipped from the crevice he unwillingly made, Ten was below him, her arms open and ready to break his fall. When his body connected with hers, she winced slightly when his shoulder impacted with her chest, and she fell back with him in her arms. When she landed on her bottom and finally settled on the ground, she looked down at the blonde hero, seeing his mouth still open from a silent scream, his eyes still rolled back to the back of his head. He wasn't breathing, she realized. She slides him off of her and hovered over him, grabbing her long dark hair so it wasn't tickling him as she watched any signs of breathing. Her hand reached for his neck, her palms sweating as she placed her fingers to his pulse.

Ba...dump…

It was light, almost unnoticeable, but he had a small beat, barely hanging on.

She started CPR, her lips connecting with his as she gave him her air, then lifted up and began pushing on his chest, pushing the air out of him and forcing him to breathe.

She heard more crashing, gasps, but she refused to look up as she gave him more air, holding her eyes shut as she waited, not wanting to distract herself.

"Come on," she whispered desperately, tears threatening to spill again. "Wake up. Please...wake up…"

Then, just as suddenly, she heard cheering. She looked up, stopping mid-pump to see that the monster was no longer in the huge crater of a hole it created, but in its place was the one named Genos, his arms sporting new black armor compared to his photo in which he was sporting gray metal arms.

"We're saved!"

Everyone cheered their desperation, tears of joy springing forth as they cried with joy at Genos, calling him their hero.

She heard a sputter below her. She looked down to see the blonde hero blinking his eyes, his irises focusing on her. She smiled down at him, blinking her tears back as she let out a relieved breath. "You're alive!" she exclaimed giddily, cupping the side of his head out of reflex.

The man's cheeks reddened, then he winced, his teeth gritting together as he closed his eyes sharply when pain shot through his body from the small movement.

"I...I hear...cheering…" he sputtered out, breathing heavily. He suspected he had a collapsed lung. "Is it…"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "Enough from you. Reserve your energy until you are properly taken care of."

When she let go of his mouth, he couldn't help but smile. "Were you...just kissing me?"

This time, her own cheeks heated up. "I was giving you CPR…" She looked away from her, her cheeks now flaming.

"That bad, huh?"

She didn't answer him but instead watched at Genos looked at the crowd, asking them if that was the last of the Sea-folk. Everyone continued to cheer, praising Genos for saving them…

That was quick, Ten realized. Did he take it out just like that?

A shadow appeared behind Genos looming over his small figure, making him and everyone freeze from the suddenness of it, disbelief crossing everyone's face. Just as rapidly, Genos went flying when something grabbed his arm, ripping it off of him like it was made of paper.

He impacted into the wall opposite of Ten, everyone looking upon with confused disbelief.

"Now you've ticked me off," growled the shadow, the arm flopped on the floor from the thing throwing it without much care.

The thing stepped into the light, his face bashed in on its right side as he regarded Genos with narrowed eyes. "I'm gonna mess you up bad." It promised.

Something crossed Genos's face before he got up, his shoulder with the missing arm sparking as he moved into a standing position. "Everyone get out while I'm keeping it busy!" he yelled, talking to the crowds around him.

Genos didn't have to say it twice before everyone started to run in the opposite direction, fear driving them forward alone. Half the crowd was coming straight for Ten and the blonde hero, not one seeing them as they ran.

"G-go!" stuttered the blonde hero below her, making her look down at him with worry clear in her doe-like eyes.

"I'm not leaving you here!" she stubbornly objected, narrowing her eyes down at his battered form.

"If you...don't go…" He winced in pain, a trail of blood rolling down his chin. "You'll die...too."

"You're not dead yet."

"I will be...soon enough...now go!"

Her hand shot forward, gripping his jacket as she watched everyone run pass them, her eyes no longer looking at him. "No. You won't." Her voice was low, serious, her mind made up.

The blonde hero opened his mouth to say something, anything but started to cough when more blood filled his mouth. He no longer had the strength to argue with her.

And to think, he began to think to himself, his vision growing blurry, I finally have a cute girl worrying over me. All for nothing, now. Because of me, she's going to die. Why am I so pathetically weak?

The monster took a menacing step forward, looking at all the fleeing humans with a tick forming on the side of his head. "I will not let you get awaaaaaay!" Another step forward, his face morphing to one of a crazed beast. "You are all my prey! All of youuuuuuu!"

Genos suddenly lite up like a Christmas tree, charging up then blasting forward to stop the monster from attacking the citizens. Ten watched in horror as one punch flew after the other, it all a complete blur to her that she only could witness a punch out of ten that were thrown. Her hand tightened around the blonde heroes' jacket as she watched the fight take place, knowing full well that Genos wouldn't win in the state he was in…

Ten looked down at the blond hero. His breathing was ragged but deep, his eyes now closed as the pain took over his senses, now leaving him incapable to talk any longer.

This all reminded her of that one time…

That one day she lost everything…

Was that why she was so weak, incapable of doing anything because it reminded her so much of that one fateful day? It was so long ago...So, so long ago. She should be over it by now…

Her grip tightened to a tight ball around his jacket, her form hunched over as pathetic self-pity took over. Damn it...she was being weak.

She sat up straight again, taking in slow, deep breaths, closing her eyes so she could calm herself down. Now wasn't the time for a panic attack. She had to think. Right now, the blonde hero below her was relying on her. She had to concentrate on him...right?

But what of the other three? She looked over to the body of...Jet Nice Guy, seeing that he was almost in two before looking away. When she tried searching for the others, she suddenly heard a horrible scream. Her head whipped to where the fighting ensued and almost screamed herself at the sight before her.

Genos's other arm fell off, steam coming off of him as his armor, his body, was melting. Somehow, he was still alive when she saw him look at his arm, but he didn't have a moment to do anything but that when the fish monster came up from behind and punched him, his body flying through the wall and to the outside.

Damn it!

Ten looked back down to the blonde, seeing his breathing was still strong, then stood up. Her fists tightened at her side as she ran over to the hole the monster created, looking out to see it looming over Genos's destroyed body.

"You're a fool, but I was impressed that you actually managed to put a scratch on me," the monster said. "That scratch already healed up, though." And to everyone's dismay, the monsters face was indeed healed and looking like nothing even touched it in the first place. The monsters cold eyes stared down at Geno's beaten body, looking down at the cyborg with disgust.

He's going to kill him...Ten's fist tightened at her sides again. Then her body responded before she could think to do such a thing in the first place…

"Now die." The monster loomed over Genos, lifting its arm ever so slowly, prepared to strike, but suddenly stopped, its eyes growing wide in wonderment and slight amusement.

There she stood, her arms stretched out, standing in front of Genos, blocking his body from the monster with her own frail one. She looked up at the monster, her chocolate eyes narrowed as she glared it down. Not even daring to show that she feared it.

All she could do now...was distract it until…

"What's this?" the creature began, leaning forward till its face was close enough for Ten to smell its disgusting rotten fish breath. "Another pathetic little worm bait for me to smoosh, eh?"

"You're the pathetic one," Ten whispered, barely audible.

"Eh? What did you say?"

"I said you're the pathetic one!" This time, she screamed it, her eyes wide with anger as she stared down the monster before her.

It smiled, wide and big, the rain now beating down faster than what it was just a moment ago.

"Get away!" Genos warned from behind her. She could hear him trying to move, but he wasn't succeeding. "You have no chance against him! Get out of the way! Now!"

"No." Was her only reply. "I won't move." Genos looked at her with wide, bewildered eyes, but she finally turned her head to look at him, a small smile playing on her lips. "Who else will distract him until Saitama comes along, right?"

"You're…" He didn't finish, however, when another unexpected event happened.

"Justice Crash!"

A bike flew into the back of the monster, effectively distracting it as it looked behind him. Both Ten and Genos looked at the same time behind the monster in wide-eyed astonishment.

"Riding the bicycle of Justice! Mumen rider enters the scene!"

And there he was, with his fists raised, was Mumen rider wearing his traditional black and brown garb and goggles and bicycle helmet, no hint of fear evident, taking on the monster head on.

"No, don't!" Genos said from behind her. Ten took a step back and crouched next to Genos, looking down at him with deep worry in her eyes. Her eyes scanned over his body, taking note of how badly damaged he was. Ten, without thinking, reached forward and wrapped her arm around his torso, helping him up in a sitting position, leaning on her for support. He didn't fight it, only looked at her from the side as she watched the monster and Mumen rider face off from one another.

"You should leave now while you still have a chance," Genos tried one last and final time.

"I'm not leaving you guys here…"

And then, Mumen rider suddenly charged toward the monster, screaming all the way.

"I am so sick of you small fries," the monster said, exasperation clear in his monstrous voice.

Mumen rider threw a punch. "Take this!" he yelled, throwing his fist forward, but only to have it caught in the grasp of the monster.

"Oh no!" Ten whispered.

The fishy monster brought his arm up, Mumen riders' body following up until his feet were dangling off the ground, and then he slammed him to the ground…

Over and over and over again until finally, his sleeve ripped, sending him flying back and behind the sea monster. He then turned back to Ten and Genos, eyeing them both with a bored look, figuring that was all said and done with the third interruption he didn't care for.

Now he just had to take care of the first and second interruptions.

"Ahh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you guys wait for the death blow. And look," he said, a smile growing on his face, "You two are in line for a single punch, now I…"

"Ju-justice…Tackle…"

Mumen rider came up behind the creature, his arms around its back as he tried to wrestle the thing to the ground. (Or hump it, Ten couldn't really tell what he was doing, twerking behind it and all.)

"Huh?"

"Ugh…I know that no one really expects me to win…" Mumen rider began but was cut short when the monster turned and swatted him away. He landed ways away with a loud thud making Ten brace tighter onto Genos with a death grip of a hold, watching with complete helplessness.

"A Class C Hero like me won't be of much help," he sputtered out on the ground. "I know that better than anyone!"

Mumen rider turned over and placed both hands below its chest, lifting his beaten body up with great effort that everyone could clearly see. "I know that I'm not fit to be a Class B hero. I know that I'm weak. I know it all too well!"

He finally got up to his feet, shaking but standing proud. "I can't even hope to beat you. I know that better than anyone…!" He looked at the monster straight on, his breathing heavy.

"And yet…I don't have a choice…but to do it. Because if I don't, who else will?"

Then he took a step forward, swiping his weak fist in defiance in front of him. "It doesn't matter if I stand a chance or not!" he yelled at the monster, his emotions overwhelming him and to anyone that was listening, making everyone wait with baited breath for what he was going to say next. For what he was going to do next.

"I have to fight you here and now!"

The monster cocked his head to the side, clearly not caring. "Quit spouting all that nonsense and drop dead already."

Then, the crowd started off small, shouting praises, then the noise grew louder, turning into a small riot of praise as they cheered on Mumen rider.

The people pinned their last hopes on him…

With the crowd cheering him on, Mumen rider fixed his stance, no longer wobbling as he suddenly found strength in the praising cheers he was hearing. Feeling the spirit of the people moving through him and giving strength he never knew existed

"Wooooaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"

He ran forward, and just like that, he was smacked away. Like he was only tissue to the monster. The spirits of the people fading away in a quiet, awww.

"Nope," the monster sneered. "Not a chance."

Everyone watched as he flew back, all their hopes gone within a flash.

When Mumen rider flew back, an arm appeared out of nowhere and caught him. There, standing in the pouring rain, stood Saitama, in all his shiny bald glory.

"You did well," Saitama said, a small encouraging smile directed at Mumen rider. "Nice fight."

"Aaaand another unwanted piece of trash pops up," the monster said with a sigh in his voice as he turned his hulking body to the newcomer that decided to take his own gander at the monster king.

When placing the battered Mumen rider on the ground, he finally looked up and noticed Ten and Genos, his eyes lingering on the form of Ten before eyeing his friend. "Wh-whoa, Genos! Dude, look at you…how are you even alive!?"

"Tea…cher…" , "Saitama!" both Ten and Genos said at the same time. Genos eyed her again, his eyes roaming over her facial features.

"You finally came!" Ten exclaimed, her joy evident on her wet, dripping face. Her smile was so big, so soulful, that it looked like it wanted to jump off and die in a pool of farting rainbows…

"Are you going to one punch the sea monster now?" Ten couldn't help but ask, her eyes sparkling as she couldn't wait to see such a feat.

Saitama blinked at her, pointing his thumb at the monster behind him as he said, "You want me to quickly whoop this seafreak or whatever it was –"

He was stopped short when a shadow suddenly appeared behind him, the sea monsters fist raised for a blow. "I can hear you, you know?" And he whacked him against the head, his head vibrating like...nevermind...

But to everyone's shock, Saitama didn't budge from that single death blow.

Then, very slowly, Saitama turned his head, narrowing his eyes at the sea monster, his features nice and sharp.

Everyone seemed to stir in the dome, all looking toward Saitama and wondering who he was. That made Ten a little worried. What if someone recognized him as the "man who destroyed half a Z city and took credit for other people's work"? She looked down, Genos catching the small movement from the unknown girl instantly. She didn't think she could bear everyone accusing him of being a cheat. Her hand suddenly tightened around Geno's torso as she came to the conclusion that she wouldn't allow that to happen.

The sea monster, proclaiming to be the sea kind, began monolog about why he was up there terrorizing the humans and whatnot. After watching Saitama fight, a lot, she realized monsters like to monolog a lot…

"And those who dare oppose me-"

"Yeah, yeah," Saitama cut him off, sticking his finger in his ear to actively itch it, a bored looked crossing his features, "You're great, I get it. It's raining so skip all the talk and come at me, would you?"

The sea monster wouldn't allow such impudence from a mere human, it seemed, because he instantly went in for a strong and powerful punch, but it didn't connect when, you know, there was a sudden giant, massive hole now going straight through his chest cavity and all…

A shock wave followed behind the sea monster after Saitama punched him, Ten watched with unblinking eyes and a large, bright smile plastered on her face. Even Genos smiled at his teacher triumphant punch.

The monster crippled over and fell to the ground, lifeless. It was only momentarily quiet as everyone took in the event that didn't even last a second to the human eye…

The people cried their astonishment, finally, not believing what they just adamantly witnessed. Questions that didn't have any solid answers to sprung out, but all Ten could do was smile. Now most saw the power that Saitama held. No more calling him a cheat, everyone saw him as the true hero that he was…

"Ya know, maybe the monster just wasn't all that strong?" said a snobby voice in the back of the crowd, his voice echoing the area around them.

The crowd began to question Saitama's power…

"What's happening?" Ten questioned to no one in particular. Genos stayed quiet as he hung his head low and watched with narrowed eyes to the citizen who spoke first.

The snobby voice began to question the ranking of heroes, saying that maybe they weren't that strong, to begin with…

Ten felt her anger rising, billowing over to the precipice of her self-control…

Someone stepped forward, grabbing the snobby boy by his collar and telling the little prick to shut up, but the nut-job kept drilling on about how they pay them to protect them, the citizens, and how they better do it, no matter the cost and if they couldn't fit the bill then maybe they weren't cut out to be heroes in the first place.

But…the blonde hero, Ten saw how he gave it his all and how the monster just swiped him away like he was nothing. Didn't that guy see how hard they fought! How much they sacrificed to buy them some time!?

"You have to admit that the other heroes were totally useless this time since the bald guy over there defeated the monster all by himself."

"I said, cut it out!"

"And don't tell me they were buying time! Anyone could've done that! Did the other heroes do anything heroic this time at all?"

"We're all saved! Let's just leave it at that!"

"Yeah, just leave it! The other heroes may not have been of much use this time, but it's not nice to point it out like that!"

What the heck were they talking about!? Didn't they see the gigantic hole they were standing in and still had the gall to say that any plain old citizen could have easily defeated it themselves - just like that?

Ten fisted her left hand, opening her mouth to say something but stopped when laughter suddenly rang out. She looked over toward the source to see Saitama shoulders shaking as he laughed at nothing in particular.

Saitama lifted his arms and shrugged nonchalantly. "Boy, am I a lucky guy or what? The other heroes had weakened the monster so much it was a piece of cake to defeat it. I'm so glad I arrived late! Now I'll get the credits even though I didn't do shit!"

Saitama turned and looked at the crowd with a crooked smile. "Ah! You guys better play along and tell your friends that I defeated it! I don't care if I profited from others' efforts, it was me who finished it! But don't you snitch on me and tell everyone I was only lucky because I arrived late!"

Oh…Saitama…

What have you done?

"Eh…? What does he mean?" , "The monster was weakened?" , "That's what the guy who defeated it says." , "Well, I guess fighting all those heroes in a row must have taken its toll."

That was when someone finally noticed who Saitama 'was'. The word cheat spread fast like wildfire and before long everyone was accusing Saitama of being a fraud, a liar, a scumbag.

But, as they continued to berate Saitama, they began to look at the other heroes in a new, friendlier light, calling them the true heroes. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Saitama was doing and Ten knew that, despite his incredible strength, he was still human, could still feel, despite his otherwise indifferent look he usually carried around, even now.

"Hey guys, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and look after the wounded heroes," Saitama continued, seemingly unfazed by what everyone was making him out to be. "It'd be bad if they actually croaked 'cause you can't make any profit from dead heroes."

That got everyone going, listening to him to a certain degree. Everyone was on the phone, others began running back into the dome to help out the wounded and others…continued to berate Saitama.

Ten was glad to see how a group of people ran over to help Mumen rider, congratulating him on his hard work for helping to stop the monster that was terrorizing the town.

Her gaze moved over to Saitama, watching as he looked up toward the sky with mildly bored amusement as the rain stopped, commenting on it as he ignored the onslaught of insults. Ten sighed before making sure that Genos could sit up on his own, noticing how Genos kept his dark eyes on Saitama. She could practically see the conflict in his eyes, the same thoughts most likely surfacing in his mind, mirroring her own.

"Are you going to be okay, Genos?" Ten asked.

Genos looked over at Ten, nodding his head. His eyes never blinking as he stared at her. "Once I get back to the lab I'll be back to my normal self by tomorrow."

Ten smiled. "I'm glad. You fought hard, you know. I saw the whole thing." To a certain extent, at least.

Genos looked away, staring at Saitama who just so happened to be making his way to the two. "Not hard enough, apparently." A look crossed his eyes, a look Ten couldn't comprehend before it vanished when Saitama finally made it to the two.

Ten could feel her heart racing when Saitama sauntered over to them. She didn't know why she felt so nervous all of the sudden. She talked to him once before so it shouldn't be a big deal now, right? Right.

"Ah, looks like you got your ass kicked again, Genos." Saitama didn't waste a moment in pointing out the obvious. Genos dropped his head down while offering a sorry to his teacher and that next time he'll try harder. In a way, Ten thought, he did, at the moment in time, looked rather cute...

Saitama's bored gaze shifted to Ten, his eyes wondering her face. "Ah, looks like you caught up with me again this time, eh? Didn't think you'd make this fight considering the disaster level and all."

Ten looked away, standing up from her crouching position and pulling down her wet blouse. (She was more than happy to be the type who wore more than one layer of clothing or she'd be embarrassed right about now.) She doubled checked to make sure all her buttons were buttoned and her skirt was in a decent position before shyly glancing up at Saitama, then, of course, looking away when she realized he was watching her fuss over nothing. "Y-yeah. I got caught up in this one. Didn't have a choice on my matter." She laughed awkwardly.

He was talking to her so freely. She knew she was making a scene in front of him, her embarrassment quite evident, but he didn't seem to acknowledge it, or he just didn't even notice.

Genos watched the exchange, his eyes zooming in on her blush, then a thought suddenly sprung to mind. "Is your name Ten, by any chance?"

Ten blinked down at him. "Y-yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh," Saitama began, hitting his left fist into his right hand as realization finally struck him. "So you've been stalking me at the hero association as well, huh?"

"S-stalking!?"

"I'm okay with you stalking me and all, but don't go stealing any of my French fries or you'll regret it. Got it?"

"Why would I steal the strongest man I know french fries!?"

"I'm not saying you would, I'm just saying."

"You're not saying it really well if you ask me…" Ten mumbled.

"Am I not saying it clearly? Let me try again… I'm okay with you stalking me but don't steal anything while I have my back turned, okay?"

"I'm not stalking you! I swear…"

"Oh…you're not? …are you sure?"

"I'm sure!"

"Oh…"

"You sound disappointed, Teacher. If it'll make you feel better, I can start stalking you."

"Don't be a creep, Genos. No one's asking you…"

Ten fidgeted with her fingers, looking down, anywhere, other than Saitama. She was glad, however, that no one was paying any heed to Saitama anymore. They were all too busy trying to help each other or the heroes that so bravely tried to protect them in their time of need, no longer paying attention to the supposed cheater…

She also wondered, on a more personal level, if he acted this friendly to everyone. He was treating her no different than a friend would treat another friend...

"Is there anything wrong, Ten?" Saitama asked, noticing how her mood suddenly turned.

"O-oh, it's nothing just…" She looked up at him, her lips pressed into a thin line as she thought about what everyone said about Saitama earlier. How cruel they all were to him. "How can you let everyone talk down to you like that? It's not right. I know you took down that sea monster with one punch, why can't anyone else see that!? And...I get why you said all that. I really do. But I still don't think it's right..."

Saitama titled his head to the right, wondering where that suddenly came from. "Why do you care? It's just talking. I know that I took down that monster, that's all I really care about."

She thought about his words, something flashing in her eyes. "All you care about, huh." She looked away, contemplating his words, watching as someone helped Mumen rider into the sitting position before she suddenly smiled, her cheeks warming to a fine blush. "Saitama, you're a true hero, aren't you?" She turned her warm, chocolate eyes to Saitama again, watching him as a new light danced in her irises.

That startled Saitama, in a way. He wasn't expecting that. "A true hero?" he questioned. His eyes grew wide as he repeated it. No one ever called him a true hero before. It was only a hobby for him, nothing too serious…

"Yeah." Her cheeks grew warmer as she took a step forward. "No matter what anyone thinks about you, you just do what you do, knowing that what you do is always in everyone's best interest, even if it's not in your interest whatsoever. That, alone, makes you a true Hero, Saitama."

Suddenly, she bowed, startling Saitama further as he took a step back in astonishment, arms wide and taught. "Thank you, Saitama, for saving me and everyone else here today." She stood up, pulling her long dark brown hair behind her ears as she continued, "You will always be my True Hero, Saitama, despite what everyone might think of you."

"…Okay."


	4. Clouds

Some people are like clouds. When they go away, it's a brighter day. And right now, those dark cloudy people were on the Hero Association forum, attacking Saitama, clouding up Ten's day. Why couldn't people be more like white, fluffy clouds that like to take funky shapes to entertain the light-of-heart and not dark clouds that like to hail...a lot.

After the whole incident was said and done, Ten and Saitama went their separate ways - again. But this time, she'd sucked up as much courage as she could possibly muster up at the time with her frazzled heart - she'd asked Saitama if she could "hang out" sometime in the near future.

He'd shrugged, not really caring when he'd walked away.

That...warmed her heart, to a certain degree.

But now that Ten was in class, looking down at her phone from underneath her desk the following day, she couldn't believe how much hate people harbored for a single person. He wasn't even a monster and they still were attacking him like he was one! It made her so...mad. She didn't get mad. The last time she was ever that mad was when she was a child and wasn't getting her way, resulting in punishment from her father...

She fought for Saitama, trying to get people to see reason. But everyone began to turn and berate her, putting her into a further foul mood than she was in the beginning. She was just glad she never had the audacity to upload her picture on her Hero Association profile. She could only imagine how much she'd be berated in real life if people thought she was siding with a supposed cheater...

Closing her phone from underneath her desk and placing it back in her front pocket of her yellow blouse, she lifted up her pencil and began to take notes of the current subject she was supposed to be-and currently wasn't entertaining that notion-listening to. She couldn't worry about it at that moment, she had to focus on her class first. Her education was important to her, after all.

It was very important to her...

Placing her school belongings in the small compact compartment on the back of her bike, she took off down the street and in the opposite direction she usually took home, ignoring the stares from students that she knew frequented the Hero Association forum as much as she was now 'subjecting' herself to in the last couple of days. (She was hoping they didn't put two and two together, considering how she'd had used her true name as her profile name...Of course, the Name, or Word, Ten was an unusual name, yes, but a common wording when used in a string of texts or phrases.) When she finally stopped after ten minutes of riding, she chained her bike to the available bike rail that the hospital offered.

Entering the first floor of the hospital, Ten made her way to the gift shop that was located near the entrance off to the left of the visiting waiting lounge. Fishing in her purse for her coin purse Ten entered the shop with a smile on her face when she greeted the shopkeeper then headed straight for the flowers, her brown eyes scanning over the vibrant colors of the freshly cut floral arrangements.

"That shop keeper's nice," Ten said aloud to no one in particular, carting all her flower purchases on the cart the floral lady offered her when she saw her buying a rather large amount of floral arrangements.

She stopped at her first destination, eyeing the piece of paper that held all the room numbers she was visiting today to make sure she had the right room, then knocked on the door.

"Come in," an aloof male voice called.

Ten opened the door but before she walked through she grabbed two random vases off her cart, a yellow vase and blue vase, then walked in with both large cases tucked against her body, the flowers partially obscuring her vision.

Two pairs of eyes watched as she walked in, both curious as they followed with their befuddled eyes, making her way inside to set the vases down next to their beds, acting as if the exploit was familiar and routine for her and not something that just so happened to be out of the blue for the two boys, the confused stares going unnoticed by the girl. "I know men don't usually care for flowers, but I thought it would be nice to bring some in to brighten up your guy's room considering yesterday's events."

"Uh," began Stinger, giving his yellowed haired roommate a quick glance, both eyes conveying their bemusement. "Thanks?"

Before the strange girl had arrived, the two were merely watching the news as they'd reported on the events of yesterday. Both boys were guardedly confused, still, about what had actually happened yesterday, but the threat was over and, in truth, that was all that actually mattered. Yes, they'd both wished to defeat the monster on their own, upping their ranking, but, as fate somehow showcased, they were not ready yet, especially considering how they were now sitting in the hospital, in the west wing designated only to the heroes; all bandaged up and broken, they knew that they needed to get stronger before moving up. It wasn't a matter of bad luck that put them in that position, it was because they simply were not ready. And as they'd brooded on this new revelation was when they'd heard the small knock on the door, Stinger figuring it had to be a nurse, called her in, but was (pleasantly) surprised to see a girl with a yellow blouse and a long white skirt, came sauntering in with two vases of flowers, not once looking "out-of-place" as she'd placed the flowers near their bedside, then turned to look at them with a soft, yet an endearing smile (even though in truth she couldn't look at the two in the eye considering her nerves were on haywire. Heroes always made her so nervous…So she kept her eyes closed when turned towards them).

Ten reached out and fluffed the flowers before making her way to the door. She turned and bowed to the two. "Thank you again for everything. Sorry if I interrupted your day."

When she left, both hospital bunk mates looked to one another, their bandaged confusion still apparent, eyes glistening in dumbfoundment.

"Was that your girlfriend, Stinger?" Lightning Max grilled, his eyes twitching up as a smile appeared on his teasing face.

"I've never seen her before in my life," Stinger replied, looking back at the door like he expected her to appear back and explain herself.

"Must be a fan, then."

"But fans aren't allowed in this part of the hospital, only relatives."

"Maybe she's a nurse?"

"Nah, she ain't no nurse."

"I guess she isn't wearing a nurses outfit...but then who is she?"

"Maybe she's a relative of one of the other heroes?"

"Yeah, that has to be it."

"Probably Mumen Rider…"

"...Mumen rider?"

Sting hummed, his head tilted up as a thought suddenly struck him. "Maybe I should cozy up to him, he does have a cute sister…" He looked at Lightning Max, a mischievous glint present in his eyes. "Do you think Mumen Rider is the protective brother type? Like, do you think he'll care if I asked his sis on a date?"

Lightning Max looked the other way, out the window as he rolled his eyes in defeat. "You're hopeless…"

Ten counted the rooms as she passed and finally stopped at one that was written on her note. She lifted her fist to knock but was startled when the door suddenly flung open revealing a large, burly man. The large man with the five o'clock shadow stared down at the petite little girl, blinking at her in his confusion.

After a moment, the girl's eyes grew wide, realizing she'd been staring at the burly man for more that what was appropriate and turned to grab a vase off the cart. When she turned back around she shoved the pink vase into the arms of the large hero. "This is for you! Oh, look at the time, have to go and visit the next hero before I'm kicked out! Time flies doesn't it? Thank you for all your hard work!"

And she was off, carting the last of her flowers down the Hero's West Wing hallway and onto the next room, a small trail of smoke following close behind.

Puri-Puri Prisoner watched the little figure scamper off then turned his eyes to the vase full of different variety of flowers in his hands.

His eyes sparkled with appreciation, then they started to shine. "What a cute little doll!" he gushed before turning back into his room to put the vase right next to his bed, turning it this way and that until it was perfect before making his way back out of his room and down the hallway to the fine pieces of tail he'd just recently found out was residing just down the hallway moments ago...the suddenness of the girls appearance momentarily forgotten.

She'd hurried to the next room down the hall, standing in front of it where she reached up and knocked loudly. Grabbing the vase quickly, she opened the door and let herself in without hearing the reply first, much to her chagrin. (She wasn't trying to hurry in!)

Glasses turned in her direction, a small smile forming on his face when he noticed the girl walking in with a vase full of flowers.

"You're looking better, Mumen Rider." Ten walked over to his bed and placed the flowers next to his bed, her previous frazzled state forgotten.

"You didn't have to do that," he said with a smile.

Ten turned the vase a little to the left so the best view of the flowers was facing Mumen Rider. She stood up straight and turned her attention back to the C-Class Hero, her hands clasped in front of her. "Nonsense. You deserve these flowers just as much as everyone else who fought yesterday." She smiled her genuine smile before she noticed something in his lap, a note, with words scratched out. She quirked her eyebrow at it, her eyes scanning over the different 'Thank You' phrases that were haphazardly scratched out.

"Is that for Saitama?" she couldn't help but ask when she saw the envelope with Saitama's name scrawled on top sitting on the bed near Mumen Rider. It made her heart leap to see that Mumen Rider was taking the time to write Saitama a note, a fan letter to be more precise, something she didn't even know they were allowed to do… She was so out of the loop...

Mumen Rider blushed, looking back down at it as his hand began to scratch the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "Yeah, but I don't really know what to say, to tell you the truth. I keep starting, but as I write out the first couple of words - they just don't sound right, you know?"

Ten cocked her head to the side and grabbed her chin as she thought. "Wouldn't a simple thank you suffice? If you ask me, Saitama doesn't much care for the whole sentimental stuff most people would appreciate." He always hated when monsters monolog for far too long, so maybe he thought the same about 'Thank You's' as well...

Mumen Rider bowed his head, considering what she'd said for a moment before reaching for the brush full of ink and wrote a big "Thank You!" in the middle of the letter. He placed the brush back down on his desk in its small container and smiled down at his note, remotely satisfied.

"Aren't you going to sign it?"

"Nah. I'm sure I'll run into him in town so I'll give him a proper thank you then."

Ten smiled down at the young C class hero before deciding on something that gave her a light dusting of blush to her cheeks. She leaned forward and pressed a small, ginger of a kiss to his cheek, then walked back to the entrance of his room. She stopped before exiting and turned to look at the red-cheeked Hero.

"Don't forget that because of you, Genos and I probably wouldn't be here today." She turned her whole body to Mumen Rider and bowed. "Thank you for saving my life, Mumen Rider." Then she walked out, a small smile present on her burning face.

Her next destination was only two doors down from Mumen Rider's room. She grabbed the last yellow vase off the cart and knocked on the door, letting the occupant know she was entering. When she walked through the door she was instantly greeted with a smile.

"Visiting twice in one day? You're spoiling me, Ten," said a tired voice as she walked over to his bedside and placed the yellow vase on his bedside table. She smiled down at the battered face that was covered in bandages, leaving him almost unrecognizable other than his blue eyes that were blazing up at her with kind regard. When she was satisfied with the placement of the flowers, she finally sat down in the chair she pulled up to the side of his bed from the morning she last visited that day.

"You're such a joker, All-Back man. I'm visiting you along with everyone else who worked so hard yesterday trying to take down that sea monster." She leaned forward and whispered, "Thanks for letting me know where the other heroes resided in the hospital, by the way, they all received their flowers." Like she promised she would do to herself. When she'd first wanted to visit the heroes she'd known she wasn't allowed to visit them unless she was somehow related, but one of the nurses had mistaken her as All-Back Man's girlfriend when she'd asked if one of them would bring him flowers for her, somehow, and let her into the West Wing to visit him and Mumen Rider.

"So you're saying I'm not special, eh?"

"What!? N-no, of course not. I-I didn't mean...I mean...your...er…"

The blonde hero smiled up at the flustered girl, watching as she fidgeted with her fingers, her mind trying to come up with a valid excuse that would make him feel better about his situation. It was cute, he had to admit.

"Calm down, I was only joking." He laughed, then grimaced when pain shot through his chest.

Ten leaned over him, a stern look crossing her usual cheerful features. "Don't over push yourself. You don't want to reopen any of your stitches."

The Blonde Hero smiled up at her, then winked. "We wouldn't want that. Of course, I did have a cute nurse come in earlier before you arrived. Maybe if I accidently reopen one of these stitches here, she may be the one to fuss over me, eh?"

Ten sat back, a light smile now gracing her pink lips, replacing the concern. "You're such a joker, All-Back Man."

"Just call me Al." He smiled over at her when he saw her blink in confusion, her emotions clear as day in her shiny brown eyes. "I would give you my full name," he explained, glancing up at the ceiling when he felt a wave of embarrassment brighten his cheeks to a dusty pink. "But I don't much care for it, truthfully. And being called All-Back Man isn't appropriate now since...well, I don't plan on continuing my career as a hero. Turns out I'm not quite cut out for it anymore." He laughed sardonically before grimacing yet again.

Ten watched him for a moment before sighing. "Alright." She smiled a closed eye smile, not allowing him to see that it hadn't reached her eyes. "Al it is."

Again, he blushed.

After saying her goodbyes, Ten made her way out of the hospital, finding it weird to see Stinger and Lightning Max running down the hallway with fear-stricken faces, but she didn't pay it any mind now that she was outside and unchaining her bike from the bike post. She made sure her books were in the compartment on the back of her bike, then set off into town, finding herself riding through Z city markets and wondering how she made her way down there. It was only a ten-minute bike ride from the hospital, but maybe, somehow, somewhere in her cranium, she knew that small tidbit of information and wanted to see if she would run into Saitama or Genos, by a small, inconceivable, percentage of a chance.

She shook her head as she peddled slowly down the road, finding her way of thinking to be quite ridiculous. She never saw Saitama outside of a fight. Their schedules, whatever his schedule was, never overlapped one another. No matter how many times she'd "found" herself in the Z city market, she'd never spotted the bald head she'd consciously, as well as unconsciously, looked for.

But still, knowing now that she was, in her mind, on talking terms with the Bald Hero, she couldn't help but look this way and that, consciously searching for a Bald Head in the crowds of people that littered the markets of Z city.

Maybe she should have had asked for his number…

That made her blush a deep scarlet hue. She shook her head at the implication that simple question would have arisen between to two. They weren't even considered friends so it wasn't appropriate to ask such of thing from him. He already called her a stalker...did he still thinks that of her? Was he thinking it right now? Was he looking behind his shoulder, thinking he saw someone following him with wavy brown hair and an overly carefree smile, and then think it was her creeping up on him bound and ready to steal his french fries!? Whatever that meant...

But he wouldn't have agreed to see her around again if he actually thought that of her, right? Unless he was just trying to get rid of her faster so he could go home and think of better tactics to stay far and clear away from her...tactics that involved punching-

She shook her head again. She needed to stop being so foolish! She wasn't going to run into him, he probably didn't frequent the markets that much anyway. And he probably didn't think anything of her. At all. So she needed to stop getting herself worked up for no reason whatsoever!

She looked up and began to peddle at a normal speed. She needed to get home anyway and finish her chores-

CLONK!

Ten ran into something when her thought process was going full-speed ahead, momentarily distracting her from any oncoming traffic of other pedestrians to her dismay, unfortunately. Her bike began to topple over when she hit the unknown object that appeared out of nowhere in her line of peddling, resulting in a quiet squeal from the girl, but was suddenly stopped in the momentum of the fall when a metal hand grabbed hold onto the middle of her handlebars and effectively, without much effort, stopped her descent down to the pavement below.

When she felt the pull of gravity downwards suddenly...stop, she realized she had her eyes closed, waiting for the pain to come when she hit the ground. But when none came, she slowly peeked, first her left, then her right, her eyes fully open and was surprised to see a pair of black and gold eyes looking down at her with cold interest.

She stopped breathing, stopped moving, when she saw Genos in front of her, looking down at her with the same eyes he always harbored; cold and calculative, no matter what the circumstances called for. Her mind was no longer going a mile a second but was stopped cold when the sudden realization hit her like a fat albino whale.

"Ten," he greeted her, his voice devoid of emotion, but she could, like the last time he spoke to her (under critical circumstances) detect a small...something in his voice as he regarded her. He let go of her handlebars when she got her footing back, taking a step back as he scrutinized her. Ten's eyes instantly looked around them, then to the bag he was holding in his hand.

"You're shopping?" she asked in obvious bewilderment, eyeing the bag that held variable fruits and vegetables and whatnot.

"Yes. There is a sale today." Was his only response, like that alone explained everything?

"Oh." She nodded her head, guessing that he liked to save money even though she did wonder why since he was, most definitely, paid a hefty allowance from the Hero Association being an S-Class Hero and all…

"Um…" Ten began when an awkward silence fell between the two. He was just...staring at her, ignoring, or just not acknowledging, everyone else that walked around them as they, too, were staring at her and him when they'd realized who he was. "So, how have you been? I see that you're back to your normal self, Genos." Small talk. She could do that. Right? Right.

Genos nodded, seemingly unfazed by the awkwardness that had generated between the two. "Yes. The repairs were not an issue. Everything had gone smoothly overnight. I was up and running this morning without any complication."

Ten smiled, willing the awkward atmosphere away. She imagined a little black cloud floating around, mostly near Genos, then she imagined herself, garbed in a superhero outfit similar to Saitama's, but with a skirt, medium-no, long skirt, and punched the cloud away, her figurative hero self jumping up and down in glee at her accomplishment. "I'm glad to hear it, Genos. I'm glad to see you're alright after everything that-" She stopped when she saw him look away, something flashing in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out he didn't want to talk about what happened the other night. She did recall him saying that he didn't fight hard enough...she knew something was going on and she didn't want to push him. So, she kept her mouth shut.

"So," she began again, changing the subject immediately, "What sale were you able to snag today, Genos? I didn't take you to be the cooking type?" Again, her eyes shifted to the contents of his grocery bags.

"I don't cook but Teacher insists that he cooks every night. It's cheaper to cook for oneself, after all." Ten smiled, realizing he was most likely citing the last bit from what Saitama must have had said to him.

Then a thought struck her, making her momentarily frown in confusion. "Teacher? You keep calling him that, how did that come about? Even though, I can probably take a guess…" Saitama was much, much stronger than Genos. He must have come across Genos and Genos, obviously, had the privilege to witness his great power and decided he wanted to become his disciple so he too could become stronger. For whatever reason, that seemed a little out-of-character for him.

But then, Ten wondered, why someone as powerful as Genos would want to become even stronger, enough so to become someone's disciple. For whatever reason, and Ten was usually a good judge of character, she'd have figured Genos would be the self-accomplishing kind of guy, not asking help from no one - but here he was, following around Saitama like a lost puppy... Yes, she understood most wanted that power - to be the strongest. But Genos...Genos wasn't always a hero, he was a lone wolf for the longest of time until he joined along with Saitama...at least, that was what the forums had said about him (minus the joining along with Saitama part) and from the interviews of his scientist who gave him all of his snazzy cyborg parts...and stuff...

Genos was giving her his calculative stare as she mauled over the possible reasons why he would call Saitama his teacher, but when Genos opened her mouth to explain, a hand greeted his shoulder. Genos looked over to see his teacher leaning forward toward the now flustered Ten, her whole entire face now tinged pink when she finally noticed him.

He just appeared out of nowhere, Ten noted. Was she too preoccupied talking to Genos that she didn't see him walking up!?

"Saitama! It's you!" she exclaimed rather boorishly before she whipped her hand over her mouth to stop anymore embarrassment from escaping.

His bored, circled eyes scanned the girl's red face. "Ah, Ten"-he remembered her name!-"Is this lug of bolts bothering you? Looks like I arrived on time, he was preparing one of his deranged stories for you." He made it sound like a bad thing...would Genos have said something that would embarrass Saitama, or said something that he really shouldn't?

Ten's cheeks grew a deeper shade of red. "N-no! Of course not! I'm the one bothering him, actually. I sort of...erm...ran into him with my bike."

"Really?" Saitama blinked. "Are you okay?" His eyes moved to her bike that she was gripping onto for dear life and then back up at her.

"Y-yes! Of course! Genos...he saved me before I could fall over…" She looked away from him, trying her best to take long, even breaths. She needed to calm herself down. She was making a fool of herself...again.

Her right hand instinctively reached down and began straightening out her already straight blouse, before she started to dust off invisible lint off her long skirt, ignoring Saitama as he watched her every move.

Saitama, of course, cocked his head to the side, finally letting go of Geno's shoulder only to grip his chin as he watched her. "Why do you always do that?" he couldn't help but ask. His eyes watched as she picked at virtually nothing on her skirt. He knew it was a nervous habit, but it was such a peculiar nervous habit he couldn't help but call her out on it.

Ten looked up from her fussing to see him looking at her with strange curiosity. "W-what?" Her cheeks heated up...again.

He pointed the finger that was gripping his chin at her blouse. "That clothes straightening thing you always do. Are you afraid your clothes are going to fly open at any given moment or something?" He started to smile rather creepily like he was imagining it or something...

That made Ten's face flame with an even darker red hue than before. She turned away from him, finding the embarrassment too much to handle. "Of course not! I-I didn't even realize I was doing it!"

Silence followed before Saitama finally added, "You know, when you do that, you only draw attention to your body, right?"

Ten could feel the red encompassing her whole body. She felt like an extraterrestrial red lighthouse beacon. "Or maybe you're just a pervert," she said very, very softly, not expecting for Saitama to hear her whatsoever, but soon found out that Saitama had very good hearing...

He was suddenly beside her, his face set in a scowl and a fist shaking in front of him. She could literally see the twitching in his eyes that was directly only to her. "Where the hell did you get that at?! I'm not a pervert!"

"My teacher is not a pervert!" Ten heard from behind her, Genos stepping in to defend his master's honor.

"I-I didn't mean it that way!...exactly…" Ten tried to clarify, her hands up in front of her as she waved them in a surrendering fashion.

When he didn't seem to calm by her words, continuing to spew out how he wasn't a pervert, Ten finally bowed. Over and over she bowed. "I'm sorry! That came out all wrong! I did say pervert, I'll admit." She stopped when she saw a tick forming on his bald head, his face as red as hers when she was embarrassed to the extreme, but he wasn't embarrassed, to her utter horror. "But it was a slip of a tongue! I don't think you're a pervert at all Saitama! I swear! You're my hero…" From her little spew, she realized, she somehow had closed her eyes as she'd yelled her apology. When she didn't hear anything more said from the bald hero, she slowly opened her eyes to see Saitama's face right in front of hers. His face wasn't sharp, but it wasn't his total bored look he usually wore outside of battles, either. His chin was pointed, his eyes slightly more angular, but his pupils were small, constricted like they normally were.

A small, invisible cold hand ran down the back of her spine, forcing her to take a step back. But she didn't get far when her shoulder blades bumped into something hard. She looked behind her to see Genos giving her his calculative stare again, no longer berating her for calling his master a pervert.

She looked back at Saitama, the unreadable face she never seen on his face still present. Then she bowed, again, for the umpteenth time. "Let me make it up to you." She figured he was still mad at her for calling him a pervert. She had to fix it somehow, right? Right.

"Let me make you dinner. Whatever you want I can make it." She stood straight up again, trying her best to hide her small, embarrassed blush. "It's the least I can do for my harsh words and for all the times you've saved me and the surrounding cities. What I said was...uncalled for and I didn't mean it in the way it came out. Promise." She turned her head to look away, finding his simple stare a little too much to handle in her predicament. "Y-you're my Hero, Saitama, not a pervert…" She didn't know why that small proclamation always had her embarrassed every time she spoke it. She was telling the truth after all.

He was still staring at her when she slowly glanced back. The same, blank, yet not blank, stare. She couldn't describe it, exactly. But it was almost like he was...surprised?

This man was so hard to read...

"...okay," Saitama said, blinking his partially sharp eyes away and replacing it with his normal, round, uncaring eyes. "If you insists. It'll give me a break tonight anyway."

Saitama suddenly turned and began walking away, his steps short and wide apart, his hands now shoved into his pockets with a grocery bag dangling off his wrist. She felt pressure on her lower back as she was pushed forward and she realized Genos was leading her along with Saitama. Were they...were they inviting her over to one of their homes!?

Maybe it was Saitama's home...

She blushed at the thought. She was going to see where Saitama lived! Or maybe Genos...She secretly hoped it was Saitama's they were headed towards.

Did they get this cozy with everyone that gave them the time of day with no judgment? This was going a little too fast for her, she didn't have any time to prepare and coach herself for the upcoming event! She was going to spend the evening with Saitama! (And Genos…) Darn it! She just hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself too much...she always did, however. She never had a reprieve from her embarrassing qualities that everyone always noticed about her.

Why was she so socially awkward?

As they walked, the crowd of people began to dwindle, and dwindle, and dwindle, until they finally walked down a street that was completely deserted. It took her a second but she finally realized where they were at.

"You live in the abandoned area of Z city?" she couldn't help but ask. Her eyes scanning the buildings, finding that the eerie quiet was starting to get to her already. Wait...wasnot there a rumor going around about this place?

She shook it away. She was with Saitama after all...

...she also asked to see who'd answer her, too. Then she'll have a better idea whose house or apartment she was headed towards.

"...uh, yeah?" Saitama turned to look at her. "Is that a bad thing?"

Yet another blush. Darn, she had to stop doing that every time he looked at her.

"No. Of course not." Well, at least that time she didn't stutter.

Then, out of the blue (and completely out of place with the pace set), a crate fell from the sky by a parachute landing right in front of the three. Genos casually walked over to it with his bag in tow like the incident was a norm for him. Which, in his case from being an S-Class Hero and all, it probably was. However, both Ten and Saitama watched him, a certain level of confusion - more so that the other - was evident on their faces.

"What the hell is that?" Saitama blurted out, eyeing the crate that fell from the sky out of nowhere. Somehow right directly in the path they were walking, miraculously.

Genos unwrapped the parachute string from around the package, setting it off to the side and opened the box casually. Both Ten and Saitama walked up behind him, looking inside with curious and searching eyes.

"It's mail for us. Delivery people can't come here, so they simply drop the mail by parachute."

Saitama was the first to bend down and inspect the box packed full of envelopes of various shapes and sizes as well as color, most presumably pink. "The post office uses parachutes?" he asked.

"No," Genos clarified, peering down toward the envelopes all addressed to him, before looking up at Saitama and continued, "It's a transmission from the Hero Association."

Saitama hummed, his blank eyes scanning the contents of the packaged lain before him in a bored epitome of un-amusement.

Ten finally took a fateful step forward and peered down at the contents, leaning her bike against the building beside them, she bent down to further her investigation in a squat right across from where Genos was presuming the same position beforehand on the other side of the box.

"Is it because you guys live in the abandoned part of Z city?" Ten questioned, placing her hand into the pile of letters to move them about, her brown eyes scanning who they were addressed to. Reaching for one, in particular, she brought it out for further inspection finding that the rather large, pink envelope had weight and was even more peculiarly surprised to see that the letter was covered in hearts and glitter and was addressed 'To My Darling Genos'. She dropped the letter, shaking her head with helpless derision as she watched it hit with a thunk, wondering if the person who created such a parcel was embarrassed whatsoever when she, or he, created such a...contraption in the first place. The horrors that letter held could only bring forth pain and suffering to the addressee that letter was unfortunately designated to. She felt bad for Genos.

Ten couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up suddenly. "Fan letters. Funny," Ten started as she stood up, brushing off the invisible dust off her pure white skirt, "Never knew you could send fan letters until recently." Ten proceeded to think back to Mumen Riders letter to Saitama and smiled warmly.

Genos reached in and grabbed a couple of letters from where Ten was previously digging through, one, in particular, catching Saitama's wondering eye. "Wait a second! Some are addressed to me!" Saitama reached forward and snatched the one that Genos had. Ten watched with rapt interest as Saitama's eyes shined with a light she wanted to associate with as a young child. He seemed...excited.

"Let's quickly get in and open them!" Saitama began to march toward an apartment building off to the right of them, his bound determination evident in his strides. He then looked back, however, to see both Genos and Ten eyeing him with obvious interest; Genos with a look of amazement to see his teacher showing a sort of excitement from just receiving a simple letter, and Ten watching with amused content, her usual smile ever present.

"Come on!" Saitama yelled at the two, his line eyebrows twitching. "Hurry, hurry it up!"

Genos bent down and picked up the box full of fan letter with apparent ease, balancing the package on his shoulder like it was nothing more than an empty box. Ten followed closely after she grabbed her bike, the urge to offer assistance was quietly squashed by her hesitance and knowledge of her own strength. She didn't ask, to her own internal dismay at her lack of self-confidence, but kept a calm smile on her face. But she really, really, really, wanted to ask, to help, because it was in her nature to do so.

She was like a dog when it came to her nature; how she grew up and what she had learnt...and then now that she was in the real world - alone - she had to go against her better nature to help even though she knew that her help wouldn't actually...help. And, in a way, that knowledge hurt her, made her feel useless.

She hated feeling useless.

And when she felt useless, she'd pout. Much like a dog when scolded by its owner.

Anticipation made her nerves stand on end, her back muscles twitching with excitement as she stood in front of Saitama's apartment, waiting for him to fish his keys out from his pants right pocket. To tell the truth, Ten thought this was going a little too fast for her nerves. She never actually talked to the guy since he saved her from that purple monster, yesterday was the first actual day she talked to him for more than a couple of words. And now she was about to enter his living space like they were friends.

Wait. Were they friends?

No. Of course not. Not yet anyways (If there was even a yet). Would he even be willing to be her friend? She was so plain, so...nothing. She wasn't like Genos. She wasn't a hero. She didn't have any hidden talents, hidden...awesomeness. Would he even bother to want to be friends with someone so plain as she was? After all, she was just like all the other citizens that resided in the cities. He could easily find someone who was much more outgoing than she was to be friends with...

She hoped so, however, that he would want to be friends with someone like her…

She didn't know why she hoped that…

"Ten…?"

She was brought out of her thoughts when her name was called. She looked up from her fidgeting fingers to see that Genos and Saitama were already in the apartment, both looking at her expectantly. Ten blinked, then she blushed.

"Oh! Sorry…"

She moved forward, taking tentative steps inside. Her head swiveled back and forth as she entered, finding the place to be moderately clean and...small. Her eyes instantly followed to the kitchen, finding it to be decently sized, surprisingly. Saitama entered the kitchen, placing both grocery bags on the counter in the kitchen as Genos walked over to the table in the middle of the...living space, and dumped all the color letters onto the table. He sat down, Saitama following right after.

Ten watched as the two sifted through all the letters, finding the ones that belonged to Saitama and was either ignoring her because they forgot about her, or just allowing her to do whatever it was she was supposed to be doing.

She stood there, awkwardly, wondering if she should start going through the contents of Saitama's kitchen to start cooking or if she should just wait until they told her what it was they wanted her to do...or to cook.

She voted on waiting, her thoughts wandering to how inappropriate it would be to go through someone's kitchen without asking. So, she just stood there, near the entrance of the apartment and watched with awkward silence as the two boys continued to go through each letter with rapt interest.

"You have a total of five letters, Teacher," Genos said as he handed the letters to Saitama then looked down at his huge pile of fan mail presented in front of him. Genos reached for one, the pink one Ten had eyed earlier and opened it. An ill look overcompensated his face as he read through the contents, finding the letter to be quite disturbing, apparently. Ten could only wonder what horrors the fan letter had said, her prediction from earlier presumably correct, her thoughts wondering how someone could write such embarrassing content.

Saitama turned in his sitting position, now facing Ten with the letters in his lap. He pulled one up in front of him, eyeing it from front to back, then reached up to rip it open, but stopped suddenly. His mellow eyes moved to regard Ten, his head now angled slightly to the side. "You know, you can sit down if you want to. No need to stand there all awkward like."

Ten blushed and quickly shuffled into the living space and sat at the end of the table between Saitama and Genos. Her hand placed in her lap where she continued to fidget with her skirt between her fingers. Saitama, however, continued to stare at her, his head now tilted back as he studied her from his side.

"If you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to stay." Saitama titled his head back forward to look back down at his small pile of "fan" mail. "You can go home if you want. You're not obligated to stay or whatever."

Ten began to straighten out her skirt again, looking away from Saitama but when she looked to her right she saw that Genos was now staring at her, his eyes unblinking and blank. She blushed and looked down at her lap, finding that the small piece of invisible lint was looking quite appealing at the moment. "No. I'm good." She forced out slowly, trying her best not to stutter from her nervousness. "I want to be here, honestly. I'm just not use...to the hospitality...and all...and people...in general…"

What the heck did she just say?!

"You're not used to people?"

Ten blushed a scarlet red. "Um...uh...no…"

She heard movement and when she looked up, she saw Saitama had turned his body to face her, his legs crossed in front of him and one hand laid nonchalantly on his knee as he stared at her.

"You don't like people?" Again, his head tilted to the right, the only indication that he was generally confused with her sudden honesty.

"I-I'm not used to talking...to people...and the whole interacting...thing…" She looked away, wondering why she always embarrassed herself when talking to him. She had no filter, apparently. She was never like this when she was younger… She really just needed to shut up. Why couldn't she just shut up!

"I usually…" she started, then stopped to cough in her fist, finding that her sudden nervousness to be inappropriate. She needed to buck up. She looked up at Saitama, a small fire aflame in her eyes. "I usually don't visit someone's home when I hardly don't even know them. It's strange," she confessed with a straight face, even though the more she spoke without breathing, the pinker her cheeks became. "And unusual for me to do such a thing, but I don't want to leave. I do owe you for the disrespect from earlier and I promised to make it up to you. So I'm going to make it up to you by making you lunch. Yes, I do feel a little uncomfortable because it's been awhile since I made anyone else lunch beside myself, but-"

Saitama's hand suddenly shot out, making Ten pause as she felt his warm hand enveloped her nose, effectively shutting her up.

"No need to explain your life story." His eyebrow twitched with annoyance, but she saw that his face was a little sharper than normal, even more sharper than from earlier. "Breath," he suddenly demanded and let go of her nose. She did just that, feeling her cheeks regain their normal hue of color. He placed his hand back in his lap, his features still sharp as he stared into her eyes. "Your nose twitches when you're determined, did you know?"

Ten blushed, understanding now why he suddenly reached for her nose out of the blue. Her hand glided over her nose, feeling the tingle it still generated from his touch.

Didn't that embarrass him to do that? It sure as heck embarrassed her!

"Now," Saitama continued, turning to face his back toward them again as he picked up his envelope he was previously studying, "Didn't you say you were going to cook us some dinner?"

Ten stood up quickly, berating herself for not asking about the whole dinner thing from the beginning. "Yes!" She glanced between the two, finding that Genos was staring at her rather intently, his eyes masked with hidden thoughts. "May I ask your permission to use your kitchen, Saitama?"

Saitama shrugged. "...sure."

"Is there anything, in particular, you would like to have?"

"Curry sounds good."

"Curry it is!"

Ten set out to the kitchen, taking a couple of strides to reach it. She looked through the bags of groceries that Saitama and Genos had bought earlier and kept what she needed out and put the rest away (as best she could since she didn't know where Saitama liked to keep his randomized grocery stock).

She was only in there ten minutes before she felt a heavy presence of disdain suddenly cloud the air, but it soon passed making Ten wonder if she'd just imagined it. She shrugged it off, continuing her preparation. Soon after, she heard the TV turn on and the news blaring in the small space, the reporter still recounting what happened yesterday. The channel was quickly turned, the sounds of fighting now entertaining the small space as the two boys watched an action anime, waiting for the food to be delivered.

When the food was done, Genos was instantly at her side, offering his assistance. Ten smiled graciously and allowed him to bring the food into the small living space on the table they were previously at when sorting through the fan mail. Saitama was already sitting, one leg propped up as his arm dangled off it, watching the steaming food make its way towards him.

As they dug in, Genos and Saitama praised Ten for the delicious food and before long, all the food was devoured, leaving all three with full, bulging stomachs - figuratively speaking for Genos.

Saitama patted his stomach, a look of content passing his otherwise bland features. "Where the hell did you learn to cook like that?" He fell back, his engorged stomach still present as he patted it away to the best of his ability. "Best. Curry. Ever."

Ten blushed scarlet. "T-thank you. I've had a lot of time to practice." She smiled her sweet smile. Saitama propped himself up on his elbow, his eyes instantly catching hers.

"Time to practice, huh?"

Ten nodded then proceeded to stand up, grabbing her dishes along the way. Genos followed, grabbing his and the curry pot off the table.

"Oh, let me do the dishes, Genos," Ten offered, swatting her hand in the air in a way that told him to put the dishes back down for her to take care of. "It's only proper that I do the dishes. I really don't mind."

Genos just stared at her with his usual blank, unhindered stare. "It is only proper that I assist you, at the very least. You're a guest here after all."

Ten bit her lip but nodded regardless. "Okay?" And then she smiled.

She did smile a lot, the boys noticed…

Walking back to the kitchen Ten instantly noticed the piles of fan mail neatly organized into five large stacks set off to the right on the ground, and then another random stack thrown precariously off to the right. When she walked passed them she immediately noticed the writing that was now glaring up at her with great malice from the thrown pile of fan mail.

"You cowardly cheating bastard! No one's gonna cheer you on!" , "You are no hero! Shame on you!" . "Just quit already!".

Ten looked down at the pile, a dark aura surrounded her petite body as a blank look crossed her face, the sudden shift instantly catching the attention of the two boys. Saitama noticed what she was looking at, his left eyebrow lifting in slight surprise.

"Oh, don't mind those, Ten, just people who need a hobby…" he shrugged it off like it was nothing, acting as if the words hadn't bothered him.

Then, just like that, the aura suddenly lifted as the dishes she had in her hands shifted so she was grasping them in her left. She bent down and grabbed one, in particular, the one that said 'Thank you!" in bold big letters.

That was fast, she contemplated. The hero association didn't lack in the department of sending out fan mail. Mumen rider must have had sent this as soon as she'd left for it to arrive so soon. She was...glad they didn't hesitate till the next day to send this letter to Saitama considering all the hate mail he'd received today. She realized that earlier, the sudden disdain she'd felt must have been the presence of the hate mail but the reason why it suddenly lifted was, most likely, the letter from Mumen Rider; a ray of light in the thick overcast of hate.

She sat the letter down, a small smile present before she turned back to Genos who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, watching her, her upturned smile now beaming. "Let's get these dishes cleaned! No time to waste after all. I need to head home soon so I can finish my chores." Her cheerfulness now glaringly apparent.

Genos nodded and let her walk past him to put her dishes in the left sink, watching her as she pulled up imaginary sleeves and began to fill up the sink with warm water, a look of bound determination present on her soft face, her nose now twitching. He watched her a moment longer, something flashing in his eyes before he walked over to the other side, grabbing a rag so he could help dry the dishes when she was done scrubbing them.

Saitama watched the small show with deliberate interest, wondering what that sudden shift of passion between the two he suddenly felt was all about. He watched a moment longer before turning back around to his previous position and fell back onto his back again, the small, content smile suddenly creeping as he listened to the two clean his dishes, his belly still feeling like it was going to burst with the delicious food he devoured not too long ago.

But, for whatever reason, he couldn't but think about the two, still wondering why they even cared about hate mail in the first place. It wasn't like they were his friends...Genos was his disciple (even though he still fought that idea) and ten was just an acquaintance...nothing more, nothing less.

(Author's Note: My mind...is in a complete and utter fog that I can't get rid of! The reason why this took so long is because...I had an accident. A car accident to be more precise and ever since then I've been...recovering.

Do I like to use dots a lot, don't I?

Sorry for all the reviews I never got back with but I have to say WOW! Just, wow! The amount of feedback I got back from the last chapter was/is staggering! Eleven reviews! I thought that for sure I would, maybe, get five at the most. I have to say, those reviews definitely helped push this chapter out after my accident. Of course, I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I had a really, really hard time reading through this chapter to fix some mistakes. I kept losing track and it was just horrible.

Back to the story: So we finally have some important interactions between Saitama, Genos, and Ten, eh? Mostly between Genos and Ten. I think Genos has finally warmed up to Ten, especially when he sees her admiration for his teacher in her. And what is up with all the hate going on in those forums, huh? Wonder what all her fighting is going to amount to…

When my mind is no longer in a fog I'll fix all the errors and whatnot in this chapter. I know there are a lot I glossed over when I was running through it but can't concentrate on at the moment. Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, they'll be fixed before the next chapter! Promise! And this time around, to anyone who reviews, you'll get a personal response from me to everyone who leaves a signed review, even if its a short three word one, I'll send my thanks. :) )


	5. Understanding

So, that happened.

Sitting in bed, ready to go to sleep with clean sheets, clean T-shirt and shorts, and clean white teeth, all ready and prepared for a full eight hours of sleep that Ten liked to obligate herself to every night but instead she was just sitting there...looking at her phone.

Genos had given her his number…

She didn't know how she felt about that. How she should feel about that. Was she supposed to feel giddy, excited, or maybe even embarrassed? She didn't feel any of those emotions, unfortunately. But her thought process kept seizing up the one question that would fleet through her mind periodically as she thought about the events leading up to her dismissal from Saitama's apartment, making her analyze the simple, little word.

Friend?

The moment that had happened hours ago kept replaying in her mind, making her scrutinize every second of it…

 _Ten bowed at the entrance to Saitama's apartment as she prepared to leave and head home before it became dark out, her smile never faltering when she bowed. When she stood up, she gave her thanks for their hospitality before turning to leave._

 _"Wait, Ten-san."_

 _Ten turned to see Genos casually walking up to her from the kitchen, his eyes never leaving hers. "If you don't mind my asking but can I offer you my number?"_

 _"Number?" she repeated, blinking her eyes in rapid concession, not understanding what he was asking._

 _"Yes." He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket flipping it open while still keeping eye contact with her. "If you don't mind, of course."_

 _Her cheeks heated up, now understanding that he wanted to give her his actual_ number-number _. "U-uh...um...uh...why?" She finally forced out, completely flustered and trying her best to keep eye contact with his never blinking black pools of his_ cyborg _eyes. She fisted her hands at her side, remembering how Saitama commented on her unusual quirk she performed when she was nervous. Not wanting to be called out on it again, especially if it, somehow, draws everyone's attention to her body, she stilled her hands. She knew Saitama was staring at the two from where he sat in front of the TV, giving a dismissive, simple,_ bye _when she'd announced that she was leaving._

 _"In case you are ever in need of help, Ten-san."_

 _She sighed, her heart finally slowing down to a, somewhat, normal beat. "Sure. No problem, Genos-_ san _. But I doubt I'll ever call you. I don't get into much trouble nowadays." She laughed at her little joke only she knew the punchline to._

 _Genos nodded, handing his phone over to Ten, making her briefly wonder why she had to give her number if she was the one who was supposed to call him first if the need ever came up, but she didn't ask as she typed in her number and then offered his phone as well as hers back to him. When he handed her phone back to her after typing in his own number, she nodded her head and walked out, letting Genos close the door behind her as she left._

And now? Now she was just staring at her phone almost like she was expecting it to go off at any given moment. She was being ridiculous, she knew that, but, for whatever unknown reason to her, she couldn't fall asleep knowing that she gave her number out to someone she had no idea if she should consider a friend or not. Her mind kept repeating that little scenario from earlier like it meant something more than what it'd appeared to her at the time.

She hated being a girl.

She sighed, deeply, and grabbed the phone off the mattress and plugged it in before setting it back on her nightstand where it belonged. Reaching up, she flicked her light off and crawled underneath her many blankets, moving this way and that until she was comfortable and finally closed her eyes.

Did Saitama have a cell phone? She couldn't recall if he ever took one out before.

Turning away from her phone, she curled up into a ball and yawned. No use pondering over questions she couldn't find the answers to, yet.

The next day, she'd arrived twenty minutes early to class. Setting her things on the table, she proceeded to gather her belongings for the upcoming lecture, making sure she had a blue and black pen, all her pencils were sharpened, that she had enough pages in her notebook…

A shadow suddenly loomed over her, forcing her to look up from her overly meticulous preparations to see three girls standing above her, the one in the middle had her hands on her hips as she glared down at Ten from the bridge of her nose, light blonde curls framing her sharp face.

Was she...looking down on her?

"Hey," the middle girl started roughly, flipping her blonde hair behind her shoulder. Her glaring blue eyes shining with a mischievous glint.

"Uh...hey?" Ten responded sheepishly, her eyes looking from her left then to her right, wondering why they were speaking to her in the first place. She had no idea who these three girls were…

"You're Ten, right?" the middle girl continued, jutting her left hip out from her too short of a hot pink skirt.

"...yes?" Ten was now really confused.

The middle girl smiled, her groupies following, but their smile wasn't one that was full of rainbows and sunshine, no, the smile they was giving Ten was full of heated disdain and for whatever reason, it was directed right at her.

"Is there a problem?" Ten asked, feeling tense with guarded anticipation.

The middle girl, the leader, titled her head to the left, her smile ever present. "Oh, no reason. Just wanted to know the names of all my classmates, that's all." Her eyes scanned Ten's tense posture, noticing how Ten's back straightened when she felt the sudden tension in the air.

The leader suddenly turned and walked away, her hips swaying with each step. "I'll see you around, Ten-chan," she called back to her as she walked over to her seat and sat down, not once looking back.

Ten watched as the other two gave her fake smiles as they followed their leader, snickering as they went. Ten could feel her shackles rise. It was a strange interaction and Ten wasn't blind to see that there was more to it than what was lead on. She wasn't amaurosis to ill intent. In fact, she knew they were planning something, but why they were even planning anything, to begin with, made her confusion harbor to the forefront of her mind.

...unless they put two and two together.

Darn. They had to have suspected her of being the Ten on the Heroes Forum that had been defending Saitama while everyone else grilled him out. If the question ever arose, she would have to deny it…

She...she didn't want to deny it. But she kept a promise. A promise she had to keep, no matter what the circumstances called for...

She didn't want to deny it, but if she was bullied for it in school, her grades would be the one in jeopardy. Her schooling meant everything to her, even more so than her pride for Saitama.

Of course, it wasn't like her defending of Saitama on the forums were helping him out in any way. It may just be doing the opposite. Genos admired Saitama just as much as she but he doesn't go on a rampage in the forums like she'd been doing. Probably because Saitama told him not to.

She shook her head, shaking all the negative thoughts away. She reached up at smacked her cheeks, taking in a big breath of air and releasing it before she began organizing her things again. No need to ponder the what if's. After all, this was supposed to be a happy time for Saitama. He was now a solitary hero of the B-Class ranking, finally. She was happy for him. More than happy for him. It was long overdue, really.

She should bake him a cake. Or maybe cookies. Did he like sweets? She would have to ask Genos the next time she ever ran into him, preferably not on her bike this time around.

So, so many questions. Wait, what was the teacher talking about? Wait! Class started!? How'd that happen!?

Jotting down notes, Ten forced her mind back to the moment on hand. She wasn't the top of her class for nothing, after all.

It was raining when Ten finally left her class. This time remembering to always carry an umbrella with her, Ten began packing her things away in the back of her bike and then opened up her umbrella when she closed the clasp of her little compartment that was located on the butt of her bike, but before she could take a seat and make the long and wet ride home, she felt her phone vibrate.

A moment of hesitation when the single ring vibrated in her breast pocket, Ten felt her heart suddenly race when she reached in and grabbed her phone. Once flipped open she saw the text.

The text from Genos…

 _'Is there any possible way you can make it over in the next 20 minutes?'_

Ten read the text. Then read it again. Her heart hammered in her chest when she began to reply back.

 _'Sure. Is there anything wrong?'_

 _'I need your help.'_

Well, that was new, and a little vague. Genos, the S-Class hero, and all around loved guy, was asking someone like her for help. What could she possibly help with that would help or even benefit someone like him?!

 _'I'm on my way now.'_

 _'Thank you.'_

She dismissed the oddity that Genos was into texting and attached her umbrella to her bike before riding out to the abandoned part of Z-city.

When she arrived she was glad that the end of her skirt was the only damp part about her when she walked up the small flight of stairs to Saitama's apartment. She only hesitated for a moment before she knocked on the door. She heard heavy footfalls before the door opened wide to reveal Genos; his never blinking eyes staring straight into hers. This time around, Ten didn't feel a wave of embarrassment as she stared back with a smile gracing her features.

"I'm glad you made it on time," Genos began, side stepping and offering Ten to come inside. "I'd have to start without you in another five minutes."

"Start?" Ten asked as she stepped inside, finding the place to be exactly the same as the last time she left, minus a certain bald hero.

She felt a twinge of disappointment knowing that Saitama wasn't home. Regardless, she graciously slipped her shoes off and stepped into the slippers offered to her on the floor mat.

"Yes." Genos walked past Ten and over to the sliding doors where he proceeded to open them. "The mail should be arriving any moment now. I wanted your help in processing them."

"My help?"

"Yes. After the airdrop, I will only have precisely ten minutes to sort through my mail as well as Teachers. It'll take me roughly three minutes and thirty-point-five seconds to organize two stacks then roughly five minutes and twenty-point-two seconds to open Teacher's mail and destroy all evidence of any that questions Teacher's motives. Then around two minutes and thirty-three seconds to reseal the ones that are relatively appropriate for my Teacher's time. As you can probably already assume, I cannot do all in under ten minutes or less. I will need your help to shave off approximately two minutes of that time in both sorting and resealing the envelopes so Teacher does not suspect my tampering."

He said that all in one breath, Ten noted.

"Will you help me with this endeavor, Ten-san? I know that you respect Teacher as much as I do. This disrespect towards Teacher's character isn't something I cannot tolerate any longer, more specifically if I can have a hand in preventing further discomfort for my teacher."

"But," Ten began slowly, her eye twitching with something akin to annoyance. "Isn't this illegal?"

He was so quick to get to the point! She was barely there for a second before he started talking about his true intentions for contacting Ten on a whim. He just wanted to use her, and he wasn't subtle about it, too.

"I am a residence here, am I not? The crate the mail comes in is solely addressed to me so the contents in it are for me to do as I please."

"I guess you're right, but-"

"It should be arriving any moment now. Will you help me or not?"

He was looking at her expectantly. His never blinking eyes drilling into her wavering ones. She didn't know how she should react to such a task, especially when it felt so...wrong to do such a thing, but the way he was looking at her...he was truly troubled by all the hate-mail Saitama received probably now on an everyday daily basis. She could understand his discomfort on the matter and she could see that Saitama's feelings, if he ever showed any to Genos, concerned the cyborg to no end.

But still, this was all sorts of wrongs in the wrongness of all wrongs that could go wrong in one wrong day…

Ten sighed, angling her head down momentarily so she could think before she spoke again. This was a delicate matter she was dealing with, she didn't want to ruin her newly budded relationship before it could blossom into something more that what she ever imagined it could blossom into.

"Genos, this isn't up to you or me to decided. Saitama is a grown man, if he so chooses to read the hate mail, then he should read it. It isn't up to us to decide what is best for him."

Genos brows furrowed, finally, he blinked. "But-" He stopped short when Ten walked forward and tentatively placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, her eyes looking into his.

"I know you want to help. I can understand that perfectly." Her hand tightened on his shoulder as she continued, "You're a good man, Genos-san. Don't let others ignorance cloud your judgment. I know Saitama doesn't. He does what he knows is the right thing to do." Ten's thoughts momentarily flashed back to when he defeated the sea king monster, how everyone turned on him in a blink of an eye and he took everything in strides, allowing everyone to hate on him so the other heroes could be viewed for what they actually were. "No matter how others view him, as long as he's true to himself that's all that truly matters to him, right?"

Ten let go of his shoulder when he finally looked away from her, his fists now clenched at his side. Without thinking, she reached down and grabbed one of his fists, holding the tightly wound left hand in both of hers. "What you do now for Saitama is more than what he could ask for in anyone. I can see a difference in him after he met you." His fist was no longer quivering with taut tension, Ten smiled at that and smoothed her thumbs over the cold metal on the back of his hand, her eyes scanning over the mechanical nature of it before she, yet again, continued, "He may not show it, but your support, knowing that someone believes in him as much as you do, means more to him than he himself even understands, I believe. If you want to help Saitama, just continue what you're doing now. You're doing a perfect job as it stands now."

His hand was no longer clenched in a tight fist in her small delicate hands, but now lax and open. She couldn't look away from the intricate design of how the metal moved as he moved. It was a fascination, she could already picture how each part worked alone to make his hand move and operate under the pretenses of a normal hand. His doctor, whoever he was, was a marvelous genius, Ten easily concluded.

"...You truly believe that?" Genos asked, his voice soft.

Ten looked up to see Genos was no longer looking at her, but down at their joined hands, a far-off look enclosed in his black eyes. Ten smiled. "Yes. I do."

There was another moment of pause before Genos let out a small sigh, his eyes now focusing back up (or down in her case since she was a good foot or so shorter than him) to look back into Ten's. "I do not agree with some of the points you made, but I can and will respect the decisions Teacher will make in the future without my interference. I will not go through his mail like planned, but I will not sit back and allow such incompetence to proceed if I find the authors of the "hate-mail" in the future."

Ten smile cracked to a grin before she started to laugh, finally letting his hands go so she could cover her mouth. "You can't bully them into submission, Genos-san!"

"It is not bullying if I am just stating a fact. And if they proceed to defile Teacher's name, I'll make then understand the facts." His eyes narrowed at the last part.

She laughed harder. "Yes, it is! I don't think you understand the term. You're such a...dork!"

Genos blinked and then cocked his head to the side, looking a little taken back. "A dork?"

"Yes." Ten smiled, a glint now shining in her brown irises. "I've decided on something, Genos-san. Do you want to know what that something is?"

"Do I have a choice?" His brow slanted up, but now even he was harboring a light smile. Was Ten being...

"I've decided-" She stopped, her cheeks warming to an extent that it had her looking away from Genos in embarrassment. "Genos-san...if it's okay with you...can I...can we... Can we be friends?"

Another blink from Genos, and then another followed thereafter until his eyes grew wide and the blinking became continuous. "You want to be friends?" When she nodded, he looked away momentarily, finding the prospect of having a friend, not something he'd considered undertaking with his current goals in mind. However, when he looked back at Ten, he said something he never thought he would say, given the weakness it may partake in for his future. "Okay."

Ten smiled warmed to a degree that had her who features glowing. Genos noticed something shift in her eyes, like a dawning of a realization, a hidden revelation, blossoming just as suddenly as his proclamation of taking on his friend. " I'm glad to hear that. Now, let's sort through the mail before Saitama arrives home from wherever he's at."

"Bargain sale," Genos added, his mild discomfort of being called a...dork now a thing of the past as he walked outside onto the small balcony to where the crate had landed five minutes ago, watching as Ten reached down and tried to pick up the crate, but only had the strength the lift up one end.

"What the heck do they put in these, Genos-san? Bricks?" Ten huffed.

Genos walked forward through the sliding door, standing next to her as he watched her try to pick up the crate that landed on Saitama's balcony with great precision. "Let me help you."

"No, I can do this!" Ten huffed again as she tried yet again to pick up the crate full of fan mail, but was, obviously, and to her utter dismay, failing miserably. "It's just...what the heck do they put in these things? Are letters of enderment and smut usually this heavy? Hey! I can pick it up! Put the darn crate down!" Genos, reaching down on the other side of the create, effectively picked up the box full of fan mail with no effort whatsoever on his part, and walked it into the living space, ignoring Ten's cries of wanting to help and setting the crate on the floor in front of the only table that accommadated the small living space.

Ten watched from the balcony as Genos untied the crate and then lifted it back up to drop the contents onto the table, much like last time. Again, there was an overwhelming amount of fan mail that overtook the small table, some falling to the ground. Genos picked up the ones the fell and sat in front of the table, his legs crossed in front of him.

She watched a moment longer, her thoughts going in a circle again before finally settling on the moment the two shared, a small, warm smile now present on her glowing face.

"Genos-san," she started, all joking aside as she fumbled with her yellow skirt. Genos turned to look at her, a letter half opened in his grasp. She looked back up at him, her eyes casting their warmth. "Thank you."

Genos blinked, a flash of emotion cascaded his irises, similar to the one from last night before it disappeared and he nodded. "You're welcome, Ten-sama."

The flash, she realized, was a form of respect. It made her...feel that warmth she only felt when she was a child...

That made her blush. She didn't comment on the odd honorific Genos used, mostly because she remembered yesterday how Saitama commented on Genos to stop calling him Teacher but Genos chose to ignore him.

Ten walked over and sat next to him, her eyes scanning the piles of fan mail. "Here's one." Ten reached forward and plucked one labeled for Saitama, or, more specifically, "The so-called B class hero so named Saitama". Yeah, that was definitely hate mail. She put it off to the side, her eye twitching with annoyance.

Ten looked back at the pile, scanning over every letter before she moved some to look underneath.

There was a moment of calm silence that passed between the two. It was welcoming for Ten, something she wasn't used to participating in.

"Ten-sama…" Genos started, getting Ten's attention. When she stopped and looked back over to him to her right, she was slightly taken back by his intense stare. "You said you could see a difference in Teacher after he met me…" he paused and looked down at the letter in his hand before he set it off to the side in a small pile of opened letters he'd already read through. When his eyes looked back upon hers, she could see he was searching for something in her own eyes. She waited for him to continue, not looking away from his ever searching gaze.

"How long have you known Teacher, if you don't mind me asking. If I remember correctly, you two first started talking when teacher defeated the Sea Folk leader."

"Oh. That." She smiled a knowing grin. "A month or so ago Saitama-san saved me from a purple pickle...erm, I mean"-she coughed in her hand to dispel the sudden fourth wall that got stuck in her throat- "A purple monster so named Vaccine Man ran rampant in the city I was currently buying some Mochi in and I got caught up in all the wreckage. I somehow survived and Saitama-san came and saved me. Ever since then whenever something big came up, I would go out in hopes to see him again and his amazing one-punch move I, admittedly, become obsessed with."

She began to pick at her imaginary lint again when a wave of embarrassment suddenly overcame her.

"But I could always sense a sort of...well, how should I put this..." Her fervent picking of imaginary lint picked up speed. She hated talking about this, she knew if she had the chance to speak to anyone about this, they'd think she was crazy. "Well, blankness from him. An all-consuming nothingness, like a man devoid of all emotion, you know?" When she looked up she saw Genos leaning in close to her, studying her with rapt interest. Her face broke out to what one would assume was a heat rash.

Genos noticed her discomfort and leaned back a little, giving back her space, but kept a close eye as she finally continued, albeit with hesitance. "B-but after he met you, I can just...feel from him again. It's hard to explain, but if you ask me, you being around is good for Saitama-san's health. I wish I would have spoken to him sooner, honestly," Ten confessed, looking down at the hand gripping at a random letter she somehow picked up without noticing. "But he always made me so...nervous. His power was enormous, maddening really, and in a way, I guess you could say Saitama-san frightened me." Ten stopped to laugh at the irony of it, shaking her head at her past self every time Saitama would look at her after a fight, how she'd looked up at him with respect as well as hidden fear.

"I wonder if he ever noticed my fear…"

"Do you fear him now?" Genos finally asked when there was a pause between the two. Closely, he watched as she thought it over. Closely, he watched her face change with each passing emotion that was easily fleetingly read across her face. It amazed him how much of an open book she was.

"No. I don't. Not now that I know he isn't a robot, that is. Not that there's anything wrong if he was a robot!" She laughed again at her ridiculousness. "You probably think I'm an idiot now, right?"

"Of course not," Genos didn't hesitate to answer that question. "It's a common fear what you felt for Teacher. He held a power far greater than something you could possibly comprehend, and given your sixth sense you supposedly harbor, you didn't know if that power was justifiable. I can understand now why you followed Teacher around like a stalker when you two were first introduced"-Again, Ten felt her eye twitch with hidden annoyance-"You wanted to prove to yourself that someone as powerful as Teacher didn't hold any ill content, abusing the power bestowed upon him, but you were also easily enthralled by the power, obsessed to see that power in action and seeing it for yourself time and time again despite the danger it may have harbored for you. But now…" He suddenly stopped his attention now completely on ten. "That's changed." Again, with another pause. His eyes moved to one eye and then in the other, his searching continuing.

"You told me that I was good for Teacher's health, correct?" She nodded. "When you're around, I notice a subtle difference in Teacher. He seems...happy, to put it simply."

Now that was news to her. "Well...he is a guy and I'm a girl sooo…"

"I don't mean it in those terms."

"Then what terms do you mean it in?"

He finally looked away, his hand moving to carry on opening the envelope he left off on. "I'm still analyzing that data."

"...that's it, huh?"

"Yes."

Did he always reply to everything she said?

"You're such a dork, you know that?"

"I am well aware of your inappropriate endearment, Ten-sama."

"And your's isn't?"

No reply.

"Of course…"

Ten sighed, but when she looked down at her own letter in hand, she smiled, and then she laughed. Genos looked at her with confusion shining in his eyes, but he didn't comment on what she thought was suddenly funny. He was starting to understand that Ten was a weird woman. He wondered if most girls were like Ten...when they were not blinded by ignorance, of course.

"Well, since we got that out of the way...Wait, didn't you say Saitama-san was only going to be gone for ten minutes? How long has it been, twenty now, right?"

Genos's eyes widen, the thought suddenly striking him like a bag of bricks. His hand instantly shot into his pants pocket, pulling out his phone and pressed the speed-dial he had set for Saitama.

"Teacher! Are you…"

A pause. Ten could hear someone speaking on the other end but couldn't make out what he was saying. It went on a full minute, Genos listening intently into his phone before finally replying with, "I understand...No, I do not think so...Understood. I'll await your arrival, Teacher."

When he hung up, he turned his attention back to Ten. "Teacher said that he's running late because the sale was bigger than what he thought before. The store was flocked, as he so put it, and was currently waiting behind an old hag that didn't know where she left her coin purse in her many layers of clothes. Then he went on how the old hag reminded him of you, with the many layers of clothing. Then he proceeded to ask me if you were an old hag in dis-"

"Genos!" she cut him off, her face flushed red, but not from embarrassment. "Don't you have a filter for that mouth? A program that tells you what is appropriate to say or what isn't?!"

"...Teacher told me to mention such a program to Doctor Kuseno the next time I go in for repairs. I will pass on your recommendations as well."

Ten gripped Genos's shoulder, her eye twitching, yet again, with exasperation. "No. You don't need to do that. It was only a joke."

"...if you say so."

Ten watched as Genos went back to opening up his fan mail and setting any that belong to Saitama off to the side. Besides the complete vexation of his nature, something Ten couldn't fathom to understand, she couldn't help but smile as she, too, went back to work, her smile still ongoing.

It wasn't until another fifteen minutes had passed that Saitama arrived home.

Opening the door, Saitama walked in and closed the door behind him. He sighed the noise loud in the too quiet of a space, his complaint heard loud and clear about the sudden turn in the weather, the weatherman from this morning never mentioning of a downpour later in the day. He didn't look up, however, when Genos greeted him home. Instead, he headed straight to the kitchen to put away his groceries he got at a great bargain, then...

...proceeded to strip out of his dripping wet clothing...

Scratching the back of his head, Saitama walked into the main living space, yawning as he went.

"Oh, more fan mail?" Saitama asked as he eyed the dwindling pile on the table, then the neatly placed stacks around the table itself. When he didn't get a reply, however, he finally looked up at Genos with his blank round eyes.

"What's wrong, Genos-san?" he asked when he noticed Genos looking down toward the ground behind the main table, a little sweat drop forming on the side of his head.

Saitama took a couple of steps forward, his interest momentarily piqued as he gaze settled on a figure strewn across the floor. A figure that was twitching rather fiercely against the hardwood floor.

"Oh! Ten-san! I didn't know you were here...wait...what's wrong with her?"

Genos was at her side instantly when he noticed she wasn't responding to his teacher, looking down at her with concern stricken eyes. Her heart was strongly beating, albeit fast, and her vital signs were all reading normal, besides her blood pressure suddenly skyrocketing out of nowhere, but not at alarming levels where it should be a concern.

"I don't understand myself, Teacher. She was just fine a moment ago before you-" Realization hit him instantly. "Teacher." Genos started, scooting over so he was obscuring her view of Saitama while he looked back at him over his shoulder. "You have stripped and your underwear is wet."

"Huh? What's that got to do with her twitching like that?"

Genos's eyes narrowed. "You're wet," he repeated.

"Yeah, so?" Saitama looked down and it finally dawned on him why Ten suddenly passed out, blood now oozing from her nostrils at an alarming rate. "My underwear is see through..."

 **(A/N: I made a little revision from when I first posted this chapter. As the creeper Doctor Dandy pointed out, the nickname I gave Genos was pretty stupid, childish really. I was actually really hesitant to publish the chapter with that in it but did it anyways. After the creepster pointed out how stupid it was...I took it out.  
**

 **I dunno what to really say guys...I feel like the two last chapters isn't the direction I want to take with this story...I would really like your input on the matter. What do you guys think of Ten? Do you find her stupid? I do believe in character development and Ten has A LOT to develope in, especially overcoming something that happened in her pass that I believe her newfound friendship(s) will help her accomplish in time. I dunno, I'm probably going to rewrite this chapter and the next so the direction is back on track. It's just hard being bed ridden and bored out of my mind. I don't think my mind is in the right place to write right now but we'll see I guess.**

 **Please let me know, guys! Also, if you haven't noticed, I started using Honorifics...something I've never done in a story before. I will be adding honorifics in my previous chapters too. They play an important role in the future when I get through this stupid funk! Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames are not...*cough, cough*.)**


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